After Slavery
by Oakleaf girl
Summary: What if the tables were turned and this time Will and Evanlyn were together instead? Who would Horace go with? Who would Alyss go with? Please feel free to comment and give me constructive criticism. This is my first fan fiction so please be kind and if you want action it will come up soon in the next chapters.
1. Chapter 1

What if?

"Hey Evanlyn wait up." Will was running across the bleak ice covered mountains that made up Skandia's natural borders. Her back was turned and she was walking quickly away from him her body language clearly indicating she wasn't in the mood for talking, but Will wouldn't be Will if he didn't pursue so he easily caught up with her and took the same long strides she was taking.

"Will I want to be alone." Her tone was hard and cutting. Will almost recoiled from her when he heard them for some reason which he couldn't gather, her being upset made him want to hold her and stroke her he shook those taboo thoughts away, she was his friend and everything about her was telling him that right now she was upset, so he knew that he couldn't leave her alone until he knew what was going on.

Honestly Evanlyn didn't know what was wrong with her either. Ever since Will and her got captured in Skandia she had felt an instant connection with him that defined more than just friends. The only point she remembered ever feeling more than gratitude towards him was when she saw him addicted to warm weed. His eyes which she had never noticed before were a beautiful mahogany brown, filled with joy, his joy. She had never noticed how special and pretty they were until they became lifeless. She hadn't noticed his body either, she only noticed after he got addicted and was no skinnier than a quill that his body used to be strong, healthy and muscular. All three things that she liked in a guy immensely. Any other day any other time she would have immediately picked these up but her mind was too busy planning a way to get out of Skorghijl to notice. What annoyed her the most was the fact that he was also so imminently likeable it was like she was naturally being gravitated towards him. Him and his cheeky grin. Now that Halt and Horace were here though she had the time to think about things other than basic survival. As soon as she had told him she wanted to be alone she regretted it. She knew her tone had been too harsh and it wasn't his fault that he was too irresistible to her. She realised he was talking again and she immediately became aware of the hurtful tone underlying his words.

"I just wanted to help Evanlyn I thought you might have been lonely so I wanted to give you some company." She turned towards him and after seeing his hurt face she sighed and sat down on the wet grass. He sat down next to her and she instinctively lay her head on his strong shoulders. She wondered if this was what friends usually did or whether she was being too close to him but he didn't seem to mind because soon he put his head on top of hers and they sat there in silence. No words needing to be said.

"I'm sorry Will I shouldn't have snapped at you like that I don't know why but I feel so depressed."

"Well it may be because we're stuck in a war. I heard it tends to do that to people." She laughed grimly. She knew the real reason behind her glum mood, she knew that she wanted to be with him but she just didn't know how or whether he wanted to be with her for that matter. His attempt at making her feel better was working though, what he didn't realise was that the fact that he was there made her feel better, he wouldn't have had to say any words.

"Yes I've heard that too. I reckon they're right." She replied. He chuckled a little his shoulders moving.

"C'mon lets get up from here and get back to Halloshalm, I'm pretty sure I'm gonna have wet patches on my bum." He laughed as he got up and pulled her up with him. She laughed as well and together they made their way, his arm around her shoulder being a comfort to her. This was enough she thought. As long as he was with her.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2 

As they arrived back in Halloshalm Will was gently butted by Tug while giving him a friendly neigh, his eyes seemed to warn him.

_At least tell me when you're about to leave you had me all worried_

"Worry wart, stop mother henning me." Will muttered quietly in a low pitched voice that he always used when bantering with Tug.

"What was that?" Evanlyn looked up at him, saw his cheeks flame with embarrassment and smiled inwardly to herself. She knew what he was doing. She had seen him and Gilan both whispering to their ranger horses while they were in Celtica and knew of the strong bond that existed between a ranger and his horse.

"Nothing, anyways I've gotta go and practise some archery do you wanna come and watch." He asked a tad hopefully, the last time she had seen him practise he had been worse than abysmal not even near hitting the targets he had aimed at and that only served to remind him that he was in that state because of that damned drug. He wanted the chance to prove to her now that he was a lot more accurate and a lot quicker. He saw her face frown out of the corner of his eye and his hopes sank.

"Maybe not today Will I might just drop by on Horace see how he's doing you know" she added casually. She didn't actually want to see Horace and a Skandian bash and whack at each other for hours at a time but it was at least better than seeing Will practise. Not that she didn't admire archery, she loved the precision in which the archers in the kingdom of Araluan shot at but the last time she saw him not going up to the standards he had expected she realised his embarrassment so she didn't want to see that now, though little did she or Will know that his shooting had improved so much these last few weeks that right now back in the Ranger corps gathering he would have been regarded as one of the top ten best archers.

"Yeah you do that." Will mumbled under his breath. He didn't know why he wanted her to watch him but he wanted some form of praise in the isolated patches of snow covered woods where he had to practise _alone_.

"Alright bye." Evanlyn said missing his sarcastic comment while she waved her delicate little fingers at him and walked off in the direction she had last seen Horace practising at in the morning. Will watched her slender figure gradually become smaller until she was too small for him to see. Sighing he kicked a rock and went back towards the area he was practising.

Will fired his last shot and grunted in satisfaction when the arrow hit the wooden bulls mark sign bang in the centre. As he was walking over to fetch his arrows he added casually

"So how did you find my shooting?" Maybe he hadn't seen the person creeping in to watch but he had definitely heard and from the sounds of those footsteps he figured the person watching was a girl. When he turned around he saw the girl jolt from the suddenness of his question.

"It was really good. I was very impressed I've never actually seen anyone shoot the way you have before, I just wanted to know whether you would like me to carry your arrows for you ranger?" He flushed at her compliment making sure he kept his face neutral; it would never do to see how easily he could be pleased. She stepped out from the trees she was hiding behind and saw his youthful face frown.

"Sorry your name is…" He left the sentence hanging. He didn't know her name but she sure was a sight to look at, long flowing blonde hair and sparkling blue eyes accompanied by high cheek bones and a slim, fit figure.

"Tyra" she finished for him. His features suddenly broke out into a smile with his eyes twinkling.

"Well Tyra I would be delighted." After all it would be churlish to refuse.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Evanlyn felt sad as she walked away from Will, she could still see his rueful expression in her mind when she told him she didn't want to watch. Personally she was still confused about everything and she felt that staying away from Will at the moment was the right thing for her. Her thought process got disfigured when he was around and this was a good a time as any to catch up with Horace anyway she thought to herself. They had pretty much been seeing each other everyday since Will had decided to punish himself into practising day and night literally. About 100 metres away she could see a huge bulky figure unsheathing a heavy broad headed sword with the utmost ease, that definitely had to be Horace, and his opponent an equally massive tattooed Skandian slicing his axe through the air menacingly, was making offensive gestures at him to get his blood boiling. But good as that technique may be (especially since Skandians were one of hot tempers) Horace was not angered or fooled by his opponent's attempts. Instead Horace opted to smile, a smile that showed he was not fooled and a smile with complete confidence at his craft ability without it bordering on to cockiness. Horace saw Ulfak frown with confusion and could tell that this was his opponents one moment of vulnerability and attacked in a serious of deadly fast coordinated movements that had the unfortunate Ulfak swinging his axe desperately, attempting to block his opponent but failing miserably. Every time he managed to block one stroke another appeared out of no where. He was forced to the point where he had to yield, shaming himself in front of his fellow crew mates who were jeering in disappointment at him now. He shook hands roughly with the young lad that had come to beat him and looked into his eyes expecting to see a boastful expression that he had become used to when other Skandians had beat him in a clash before, but this young man had no intention of showing off it was as if that thought never even occurred to him instead Horace had sympathy for Ulfak who now had to go back and get teased by his comrades. This match had lasted several minutes longer than normal sword fights and Horace could tell that he only won because of his opponents confusion so it never did good to boast he thought to himself. As he was pouring water from his leather bag over his head to cool himself off he saw Evanlyn was already sat down on a patch of grass watching him with slight awe. He blushed a little, ever since he had been an apprentice he had been used to some female company but he didn't spend enough time with them to feel completely at ease so he shambled his way along the field in which he had been practising until he found himself in front of her. He sat down beside her a little awkwardly.

"That was really good I would never have thought you were an apprentice believe me" Evanlyn said with astonishment.

"Thanks I try to practise whenever I can you know, what with Will making me feel like a fop."

"Yeah he's practically killing himself with all that training"

"But you know he really has improved, I saw Halt watching him the other day and he even nodded with approval now when Halt does that it means a good thing believe me." Horace had added from personal experience with Halt in Gallica. He smiled a little at those times.

"What?" Evanlyn asked. She was a naturally curious girl, maybe not so much as Will but still enough to not want to stay out of the loop.

"Nothing I was just thinking about when Halt and I joined together in search of you and Will"

"Yeah I sure am glad about that, especially when you saved me from that creep of a man that was about to kill me" she added.

"Yeah but that was only once I mean Will has saved your life a lot more than I have."

"That's true." Evanlyn murmured. She had never thought of it that way since Will had just been addicted to drugs but on Skorghijl he saved her life plenty of times even if it wasn't the typical hero way Horace had done, and with that she also realised she had never thanked him the way she had when Horace saved her.

"Hey do you wanna walk I mean I'm bloody freezing" Horace asked, it was still the early days of Spring and now and then sudden gusts of bitter wind would make its way to the country and it didn't help that Horace was drenched in icy water that he had poured over himself.

"Yeah you probably should have thought about that before you emptied your water bag over your head like a numpty." Evanlyn replied jokingly.

"Ha true that, true that" Horace replied matter of factly. They both laughed in unison and made their way slowly enjoying each others company to where they both knew Will to be practising.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Will was flat on his back, coughing for what felt like an eternity his lungs desperately trying to gulp in more air when it got knocked out of him as he had landed on the uneven ground roughly.

"Still think I can't fight then ranger?" Tyra had a mischievous light in her eyes as she said those words. Will groaned a little as he pushed himself of the grass and stood up rubbing his chest to face her where she was standing in a poised fighting position. That is definitely going to bruise he thought to himself dryly.

"Gorlags beard girl, where the devil did you learn to fight like that?" Tyra laughed.

"I see you've gotten used to our language then. We've learned to fight ever since we were born Will, boy or girl." She added seriously.

"Well this is definitely the last time I'm gonna contradict you when you say you can fight better than most boys." Will started to laugh then stopped as he realised he was increasing the aching burn in his chest.

"Maybe I shouldn't have punched you so hard." She said eyeing him and feeling guilty.

"Oh no that's alright it will give me experience."

"Experience for what?" She asked her head cocked to the side.

"For when we fight again of course. You didn't think I was gonna give up that easily did you?" He asked in a joking manner.

"Actually I did. I thought it was embarrassing enough the first time you got beaten up by a girl."

"Ah well no one was here to see that were they" He replied cheekily. He knew that if Horace or Halt were to ever find out about this they would never live this down. "Hey do you wanna take a break I mean we've been fighting pretty hard" Will looked at her then saw as she raised her eyebrow in a look of disbelief. "Alright then since _you've _been fighting pretty hard." He corrected. Tyra had to laugh at his sheepish expression it was too cute to watch.

"Come on then before you break another bone." She pointed towards a tree in which meagre shade could be provided against the sun's torture and he followed her.

"Well that's rich I didn't exactly break my bones did I?"

"Well you weren't far from it that's for sure." She replied wittily. She was having fun with this whole banter malarkey, usually any Skandian she would have the guts to say that too would most probably have flogged her. But this foreigner seemed used to the whole concept added to the fact that if he did get angry he couldn't flog her since she was stronger than him. She smiled cheerfully as she saw him gently lower himself to the ground so as not to bruise or hurt his buttocks any more. _Make that a lot stronger _she amended. She went over and joined him sitting down and breathing in the fresh, cool air. After a while of silence – well only 2 and a half minutes Will wouldn't be able to manage a _while_ – he asked.

"Who are you? Not to be rude or anything but within 10 minutes you've managed to have me flat on my back, I mean a girl like that is worth remembering." She flushed at his compliment. Will had always been an easy going person and never had any problems talking or communicating with girls since he pretty much acted the same way around guys and girls.

"Well my name is Tyra and I'm Svengals niece I take it you know who he is?" She asked gently. She had heard her uncle chatter about the two Araluan slaves they had picked up and how the boy was a real scrapper, after seeing his shooting today she felt the same way.

"Oh yeah course I do he's great tell him that from me won't you?"

"Sure why not." Tyra saw him rub his chest again and came to a decision. "Right I'm gonna go home quickly and get a medical kit"

"No really I'm fi-"

"Do not say you are fine Will you have been rubbing that chest the entire time we have been talking now I'll only be a minute. See that house over there?" She pointed towards a ramshackle hut made from yet again more pine logs that had a warm curl of smoke coming out of the chimney and was located in a spacious outback.

"Yeah I see it." He said seeing that she was waiting for him to respond.

"That's where I live I'll be back soon try not to hurt yourself anymore if you can manage it ranger." She chided him gently.

"I'll see if I can manage it." He said haughtily, he had felt his pride had been provoked enough for one day. She laughed quietly at his expression and in the end he did too as she jogged briskly over to get the medical kit. He was glad that she had offered to bring him some medicine his chest was really beginning to hurt, if he had had any idea that girls could throw punches like that so help him God he would never have talked to a girl in his life! He closed his eyes and felt the breeze winding through his tousled hair that had become even more so after his encounter with Tyra. He thought about her. _She really was quite a girl. _"Hey never knew you could come back so quickly." His eyes were still closed but his ranger skills were finely tuned and he had heard her even when she tried to sneak up on him.

"How do you do that? It's uncanny you know" She asked pouting.

"Where haven't I heard that before" he sighed to himself "have you got the medicine?"

"Oh look who's begging for it now I thought you said you were fine." He opened his eyes to look at her. A smile was still lurking around her lips playfully and he sighed yet again and spoke with a tone that made her feel like a child.

"Well I only asked Tyra because if you didn't bring the medicine it would have been a waste of your time wouldn't it?" Tyra sniffed disdainfully at his logic.

"Take your top off." She said abruptly.

"I most certainly will not." He replied just as quickly.

"Will I need to see your wound and a woman's touch is much softer than a mans."

"Well not your touch seeming you caused this in the first place." He mumbled but he allowed her to take his shirt off where his prediction had been right. A huge yellow bruise was beginning to form all over his chest.

"Ooh that does not look pretty." She opened the medical kit box and got out a pain killing salve that she dipped her fingers into. When she looked up at Will he flinched at the smell of warm weed. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing just make it quick please" He scrunched up his nose in a way to block the smell which didn't seem to work.

"O.K" She replied more than a little confused. She made him stand up and put both her hands on his chest rubbing gently at the bruise. She had to admit to herself his muscles were very solid and impressive. She would have never have thought this much muscle would be under his shirt and she was more than a little impressed. She looked up and realised Will was watching her. "What?" She blushed a little.

"Nothing don't worry carry on." And so she continued. It was unfortunate though for Evanlyn that she and Horace had to arrive at that moment in time.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Evanlyn frowned in absolute anger as she saw Will topless and a girl apparently massaging his chest, if she had seen the spreading of the yellowish bruise with a tinge of blue on his chest she most probably would have been more reasonable but Will had his back to her. Horace of course as a typical teenage boy would, had a huge grin lighting up his face at the thought of Will managing to get himself a girl within the first couple of weeks. _I seriously am going to have to ask him how he does that _he thought to himself wryly. Initially his second reaction was to blush, after all it was a very rare case in Araluan that anybody exposed such nudity in public and he wasn't sure how to deal with it. He immediately felt Evanlyn stiffen by his side.

Tyra for her part stopped what she was doing and looked uncertainly over Will's shoulder to where 2 other foreigners were making their way. She blushed furiously as she realised what must have been racing through their minds. Will opened his eyes frowning; he had liked the soothing gentle touch of her fingers and was surprised when she stopped so suddenly.

"What's wrong Tyra?" He saw her indicate with her head and he turned around to see Evanlyn and Horace. Evanlyn with a frown that immediately changed to one of concern when she saw his bruising and Horace taking notice of nothing still with a ridiculously wide grin pasted on his face. Once Will saw them he yelped in surprise and fumbled around looking for his shirt which seemed to take a millennium to find, all the while his skin becoming more and more red until he hastily donned it on ignoring the sudden pain in his chest and turning to face them.

"Horace, Evanlyn what are you two doing here?" He replied as casually as he could seeming his cheeks were still burning red.

"We were just checking up on you Will we didn't realise you were busy" Horace eyed meaningfully to the girl behind Will and coughed gently.

"What? Oh yes I mean she was just helping me that's all I got hurt." Will replied hurriedly.

"How did you get hurt Will?" Evanlyn asked. Will was about to open his mouth blushing while doing so when Tyra took pity on him and helped him out.

"He was shooting when I appeared out of no where and the sudden noise led him to trip over a log and bruise his chest." She intervened. Evanlyn reluctantly turned to face the girl that was speaking with an accusing glare still in her eyes.

"Yes well after that she decided to help me out and now we're friends. Tyra this is Evanlyn and Evanlyn this is Tyra." Will wringed his hands apprehensively as the girls looked at each other. Both of them had an instinctive disliking towards one another. Evanlyn didn't seem to know the girl but as first impressions went she sounded like a git. Evanlyn forced herself to smile and said.

"How do you do?" Tyra tossed her hair in a defensive manner which Will noticed.

"I'm good how are you?"

"Just great" Evanlyn replied with a touch of iciness as they shook hands. As soon as they did Evanlyn regretted it, _whoever this girl is has bloody massive hands _she thought as she winced inwardly, her hand being crushed against Tyra's.

"So Tyra, where are you from?" Even as Horace asked it he realised it was a stupid question but he felt the tension in the air and he asked the first thing that came to mind. _Brilliant she probably thinks I'm some sort of mentally handicapped guy _he berated himself.

"I'm from Skandia." She assumed it would have been obvious to him from her naturally strong build and pale complexion but then again she didn't know much about these foreigners.

"Oh yeah course I knew that. Anyways I need to go and practise some more my break shift is over." He walked away from them awkwardly and made down hill for his practise arena.

"Wait up I'm joining you." Evanlyn seeing a potential escape from this extremely awkward meeting seized the first chance she could to get out of there. As long as they didn't start rubbing each other again she thought bitterly.

Tyra turned to face Will with a look of utter despair on her face.

"What the hell was that Will? They probably think I'm some sort of creep now." To her surprise and anger she heard him laughing. "What? What's so funny? Here I am embarrassed to the core and you start laughing." Of course this only served to make him laugh harder. He had no idea why he was laughing in the first place but soon after Tyra joined him and they were giggling uncontrollably on the floor like a pair of 5 year olds. When Will got control over himself he forced himself into a sitting position and wiped the tears from his eyes.

"Awwww man my stomach aches now. This is all your fault."

"My fault? How is it my fault?" She asked vehemently.

"First you bruise my chest and then you kill my stomach who am I to blame for all that?" She realised he was teasing her again and replied.

"Blame yourself. You're the one with the weak body parts."

"Weak? Did you see how many muscles I've built?" Will asked incredulously because even if he didn't show it he took great pride in his body structure.

"Please any Skandian here would have ten times the muscles you do."

"Yeah well their muscles are creepy I don't even know how they move if I had muscles like that I would be stuck to the floor." Will added defensively. Tyra laughed again as she remembered telling her mum the same thing when she was a young child.

"Yeah you are right about that." They both laughed together and got up as they realised the sun was setting and it was getting late. "Well I better head home my mum will get worried. Are you gonna be here same time same place tomorrow?"

"Yup. I don't miss a day of practise." Will replied cheerfully.

"Good, then I might drop by and see how you're coping ranger. Bye." She walked of towards the setting sun in the direction of her house. Will watched her go but eventually couldn't see her as the suns light burned his eyes. He sighed again and thought about Evanlyn's reaction which surprised him, and walked towards the area he knew Oberjarl Ragnaks great hall to be to meet Halt and catch up with any oncoming news to do with the war. What he didn't realise was that Evanlyn was sighing too but for a different reason.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

"Where have you been?" Halt asked irritably. Even though he didn't show he had been deeply worried for the past two hours. He had just got Will back, it would have tugged at his heart almost broken it in fact if Will had been lost or hurt in any sort of way.

_I've got to stop getting so damn sentimental. It's worrying._

"I just decided to hang out a bit." Will said quieter than his usual boisterous manner. The tone and the slightest slump of his shoulders alerted Halt that something was wrong but he never showed it because as ever his face was a blank canvas. If he needed support or help he would have come to me himself Halt thought gruffly.

"Well I've got to go and assess the Skandians prowess in battle so that we can win this bloody war and head home." He said as grim faced as ever.

"Have fun, I hope the Skandians show and tell you everything you need to know including how loud they belch, how many scars they have and how much they love to fart." Will jibed in a mock cheery manner and grinned lopsidedly when seeing Halt raise his eyebrow in turn. He was in truth hiding the grimace that was about to show on his face when he realised what Will had told him, mock cheerfulness as it may be was a pretty accurate version of what Skandians liked to do when they weren't practising.

"I'm going to have the time of my life." He replied his face totally deadpan. Anyone other than Will would have been fooled into thinking that Halt actually wanted to go there, but during Will's time in the never ending woods surrounding Redmont castle, bathed in the sun's light while sending a constant stream of arrows towards the wooden targets, he had come to learn and love the grizzled old ranger that was thought of as a father therefore knowing a lot more about him than he realised.

"Yup I'm pretty sure you are." He replied in an easy manner.

"You know, there once was a time when you came to do everything I said and had a certain level of deference towards me, I wonder what has happened to it now." He mused to Will.

"Realised you were a little bantam in a green cloak with a girl's heart." Will replied while shrugging. Halt harrumphed noisily and walked away quickly trying to escape the area around Will so as not to be able to hear any more snide replies. Will laughed gently at Halt's injured manner and scooted off towards his sleeping dormitories.

Once having done all his nightly rituals before going to bed, he clambered inside the thick linen covers exhausted. He was awfully glad that Skandians had the brain to produce the linen extra thick otherwise he could have died from the bitter winds that sailed through the night. Even in the middle of Spring the nights were still icy cold and he shuddered to think what would have happened to him were they not there. That set him to a recollection of memories about the dusty, dilapidated wooden hut in which he knew the yard slaves were sleeping in. He sighed deeply, wondering about what his life would have been like had he not escaped. Had Evanlyn not helped him escape he corrected wisely. Even as his thoughts rested on her a soft hand rapped on his door. He sat up a little groggily and made his way silently to the door. He opened the door slightly not trusting who might have knocked as previous thoughts about his time in slavery were still racing through his mind. As soon as he opened it however a small but firm hand pushed it open even wider and Evanlyn squeezed through the tiny gap while Will made sure he didn't exclaim his surprise too loudly.

"Evanlyn what are you doing here?" Will knew nearly everyone was asleep and so whispered, he didn't want to wake them. He knew from personal experience that Skandians weren't too lenient if they were deprived of sleep. His sleeping quarters were simple but spacious. Skandians didn't often get many guests so any extra rooms given were quite big. Evanlyn herself had her own sleeping quarters as Skandians still wished to give her privacy. Will had kept his wooden shutter open because cold as it may be he was a ranger after all if still an apprentice and he never slept a night with his shutter closed. The cold air was refreshing and his eyes could see Evanlyn as the moon's light caught on her features and made her look even prettier than before.

"Will I had a nightmare." She said feeling a little foolish. After she said those words Will noticed how red rimmed her eyes were, and the sheen of sweat that was still gathered on her forehead.

"I'm sorry you had a nightmare Evanlyn but…" He raised his shoulders a little trying not to be selfish but his gesture said _how does this concern me? _She recognised the gesture and uttered two unbearable words.

"About Skandia." Immediately from under the moonlight she saw his expression change to concern as he made his way through the darkness to her and wrapped her soothingly in his arms. She had made herself promise not to show any signs of weakness. Not to cry, but as soon as he gently kept her in his embrace and rested his chin on top of her head she felt the hot prickly tears slowly pour out, each one betraying her. They could have stayed in that position for the rest of the night but a while later Will pulled away and led her to his bed. She sat down quietly still hiccoughing from her tears as he sat down next to her on the edge of his bed.

"I know how you feel Evanlyn don't worry we've got each other. We can help each other get through this one small step at a time." Somehow he said the exact words she wanted to hear and his voice while not a croon was unintentionally seductive to her as he said those next words. "You and me that's all that counts. We can get through this. Together." Will looked at her and saw her wipe her tear stained cheeks as she nodded with conviction at his words. He felt a wet tingle on his jerkin and saw a massive wet patch on his chest where she had been crying. She noticed too because when she saw him look down she said.

"Sorry Will I didn't mean to ruin your jerkin-"

"You have nothing to apologise for Evanlyn none of this is your fault you didn't ask for it and neither did I." She looked up at his face as his low voice said those words fiercely. His serious brown eyes bored into her vivid green ones and he nodded at her softly. "Did you want to tell me about your nightmare?" He prodded her in the direction she least wanted to go in but she knew it was better to get it off her chest and she couldn't see who else would be better suited to listening than Will. He propped himself on the bed in a half sitting half lying position and had a look of sympathy on his face. She knew that from his expression he wasn't going to interrupt her or ask her any questions he was solely going to listen and she was glad. It was hard enough opening up her nightmares to him. Her nightmare first began with everything she had been through in Skandia. In the slaves kitchen doing work day after day grindingly while Slagor would come and visit her night after night no one there to hear her screams. Then it changed to her seeing Will and how horrible and lifeless he looked. She dreamt of him as a zombie like creature with no memory about to kill her as the Oberjarl laughed cruelly in the background yelling abuse and finding out her true identity. Will listened intently as she confessed her recurring nightmare silent tears now coming out without her knowing. After a long time he said.

"I didn't know how scary I must have been. Like the living dead." He said to her in empathy.

"You have no idea" she said to him quietly.

"I get dreams like that too Evanlyn but there's nothing I can do about it when I wake up in the middle of the night with sweat pouring down my face mixed in with tears at the sight of what I had to witness and go through." She saw his eyes take a glazed look as he was remembering what happened in his own nightmare. His voice was soft but distant.

"Will can I sleep with you tonight? It's just that I'd feel better knowing someone was there by my side if I have that dream again." She looked up to him hoping against hope he would say yes. A long time after he did and she got under the covers next to him while keeping her distance. Will kept his distance as well so no one got the wrong impression and gradually the both of them fell asleep in fitful bursts and each time any one of them woke the other would croon words of comfort till they both went back to sleep. They stayed like that until dawn, the first rays of sun falling on them. 


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Will grunted as the rays of sunlight fell on his face a bright orange haze from under his eyelids. He turned around to get the sun off his face and he succeeded except it was no use he was already awake now. Cursing the sun silently under his breath he opened his eyes letting them adjust for a few minutes and turned yet again to face Evanlyn. Sometime during their sleep they must have moved closer to each other as when he turned, her face was only inches from his. He smiled quietly. How radiant she looked when she was asleep, no worries or troubles to age her face, strawberry blonde coloured hair framing her small but pointy nose and a strand of it in her mouth somehow. He tucked the strand of hair behind her ear softly so as not to wake her and saw the shape of her mouth. He saw the curve of her mouth and the moisture of her lips and within seconds it took all of his will power not to kiss her and feel the texture of her lips wrapping perfectly round his own. His eyes glanced at her mouth desire in his eyes, his hands bunched into fist then he forced himself to look away getting up from the bed while doing so. As he swung his legs over the bed it creaked a little, he crossed his fingers hoping that it didn't wake her up but in vain. Her eyelids fluttered a couple of times then her green eyes sought his as she propelled herself to a sitting position a warm smile on her face.

"Good morning." She whispered in a happy mood. She didn't know why she was whispering but there was something serene about the sun beams lighting up his room. His room. Something in her brain clicked. Oh no did she actually fall asleep next to Will? This was horrible no doubt he must have been thinking about how pathetic she was.

"Good morning did you sleep well?" He asked in a friendly tone. He got up and took his simple cloth bag full of his bathroom necessities and made his way to the joint bathroom door. She said as casually as she could.

"Yeah it was much better than any other type of sleep I had before." He knew her sleep was better because he was there to help her so he grinned and said.

"Glad to be of service good ma'am." He made his voice rumble and did a humble bow while she giggled slightly. _Oh_ _Lordy how did he do that? It's deeply alluring. _Shethought to herself,she knew he was mocking the chivalrous manner in which the knights of Araluan usually behaved towards her and she got out of bed to do a little twirl in turn.

"Well I see you've been practising." He raised his eyebrow but the effect was a little wasted as another grin was breaking out on the side of his face.

"I used to have many balls and dances in which I could practise such things."

"Of course you are rather special after all." He tactfully didn't mention she was the princess even in his conversations with her just in case any Skandian had the indecency to eavesdrop on their banters. He opened the door he was next to and came out within five minutes refreshed and woken up. She did the same and he carefully led her to her sleeping quarters. Admittedly she could have done this herself but he wanted to make absolutely sure that no one knew she had been in his room plus she didn't seem to mind either. Once there she tucked herself into her bed that was cold from her absence in it and he bid good bye to her. Just as he was about to shut the door she said.

"Oh Will I might just drop by to see how you're doing in practise this morning." She could see his face light up instantly at her words and felt a glow of pride in her chest. She loved it when she could bring a smile to his face but then again anyone could, he was easily pleased after all she thought to herself.

"Great, now you and Tyra both will be able to see me practise." His comment which was meant to be positive made her frown ever so slightly. She had competition now she knew. Though she was determined to win no matter how long it took.

Around half an hour later Will was making his way up the damp grass towards the forest of trees he practised in day after day. His stomach was full from the excessive amount of grease and fat that was provided in his breakfast. He was sure Halt would disapprove but it had been a long time since he had such a filling sensation in his stomach from pleasant food that he couldn't resist. Walking would most probably do him some good and burn off the ever increasing calories that were inside him since he had been given rich food. While he was walking his mind was buzzing with thoughts. Thoughts about the war. He swore loudly at the Temujai's, forgetting about anyone's presence until a friendly voice from behind a tree called out to him telling him he was loud enough to wake the dead.

"Oh hey Tyra."

"Hello yourself what was the swearing about you're not that hideous don't worry." She was walking beside him now, smirking. Will was quite short for his age she could see and she was easily about a head taller than him. She was a Skandian after all. She looked sideways to see his grimace while his hands ruffled through his already messy hair.

"I just. I mean I was just thinking about the war that's all." He spoke in a low dispirited kind of way. In truth Will was dispirited, he wasn't pessimistic because he was scared he wouldn't survive he was pessimistic because they had to land themselves in a war in the first place. He sighed for the umpteenth time and sat down near a glade of trees. She joined in beside him.

"I know, the war kind of sucks huh?" She was trying be as light humoured as she could without it being annoying to him.

"Yeah pretty much. I mean I know I'm not an amazing fighter or what not like the Skandians are but I'm not worried about that." He paused for a long time wondering whether he should tell her what had been bothering him. She saw him open his mouth a bit like a fish several times and she was about to prompt him to speak when his voice coming out so low she could hardly hear him said. "I've never killed a man before." He looked shamefaced as he stared at the patch of light green grass surrounding him. He couldn't bring himself to look into her piercing blue eyes, he was scared she would judge him but since he had already started he felt obliged to continue. "I have admittedly killed, but they were just beasts and the Kalkara and Wargals were about to kill me. The idea of killing someone though, taking their life away from them within seconds with a flesh tearing arrow, it's just, it's just." He was hyperventilating now rocking backwards and forewords. Tyra looked at him now and truly saw him. His warm brown eyes and his high cheek bones which made his eyes crinkle in a cute way when he laughed. His firm jaw bones and his strong muscles. This boy, no man she considered was opening his emotions to her which she had rarely ever seen a man do before. She had to take sympathy on him so she enveloped him in a hug almost protecting him from the thoughts he didn't want to be a part of. Feeling her arms around him Will felt much better. A thought flashed his mind; _if my mother or father were alive would they have comforted me like this?_ He always had that thought when other people had to do what his parents should have been doing for him for the last 17 years, but he knew he would never find the answer to that particular question. He sniffled a bit and quickly wiped away a bugger that was threatening to show itself in front of Tyra.

"It's O.K Will I know you're angry and upset and you have every reason to be." She crooned in a motherly fashion.

"Thanks Tyra." It had been too long since he had someone to lean on and even though he had Evanlyn she had her own problems, her own nightmares too. It wouldn't have been fair of him to burden her with his troubles when she had just as many.

"It's alright. Though you're not as tough as I thought you were." She said lightly.

"I'm not tough at all actually. If I was I would have been able to kill people but I can't. I feel sick just thinking about the families they have, the children, and the wives. I know I'm meant to be stronger than this but-"

"No Will. Feeling scared to kill someone isn't weak it's part of being human. Every one feels that way even Skandian warriors."

"No they couldn't"

"But they do because it's natural to feel scared it's part of human nature I've seen them having to train specifically to make sure they don't freeze up before they're about to kill."

"Wow. I never knew. Oh and by the way is being a therapist your full time occupation or something?" She mock punched him in the arm.

"Very funny now get back to your training instead of dawdling here."

"Yup you definitely sound like a teacher now." He walked towards the trees to practise but he was feeling a lot lighter in his heart now.

It was midday when Evanlyn arrived at the site where Will was still practising. Her face frowned slightly when she saw Tyra leaning easily against the back of one of the many thick tree trunks. She advanced towards Tyra and plopped herself against the same trunk Tyra was against. The trees in Skandia were so wide ten people could have sat by each other side to side comfortably. Tyra either didn't see her or she just didn't care.

"Hi, Tyra right?" Evanlyn asked. She wanted to engage her in some sort of conversation so she wouldn't seem too rude. She saw Tyra turn her head in her direction and nod stiffly. _Oh so this is how she's gonna play it. Well two can play at that game._ So for the rest of the hour they were both dead silent, their concentration only on Will. She had to concede now that Will had improved vastly. She had definitely miscalculated his abilities and after seeing arrow after arrow hit the centre of the tiny target almost 200 metres away she was thrilled at his capability.

In an honest assessment of the truth Will had seen and heard Evanlyn making her way towards him and he couldn't help but show off a little. Just to prove to her how much he had improved. He decided to take a break after seeing the frosty silence maintained between the two girls. He couldn't understand why they didn't like each other, he had a vague idea it had something to do with him but he found that thought ridiculous!

"Hey you came after all." A smile was playing across his lips while his eyes creased at the corners.

"Yes I wouldn't miss it for the world you were amazing Will absolutely amazing!" Will flushed at her praise. There were definite advantages of practising around girls he knew and his was one of them. Evanlyn too inwardly smiled but for a different reason. She knew she had raised the stakes now by making that point and when she looked over she could see a jealous light in Tyra's eyes. Then it changed to smugness.

_I've already rubbed his chest I doubt you can do better than that._

Evanlyn saw the meaning in her eyes and had to fight to control her anger. She heard Wills voice again and realised he was speaking.

"Oh thanks Evanlyn I have been practising day and night though so if I didn't improve it would be a little worrying."

"Yeah just a little bit" she said back and they both started laughing. Tyra could see the obvious connection between them and recognised her time was up. She would try to get Will back but she knew for today with Her around she would probably not get a word in edge wise. She slowly backed away to the forest and headed for home unnoticed by the two young Araluans who were having too much fun in each others presence.

It had been a while after Will and Evanlyn had decided to have their lunch break with Horace who was also practising, and they had both come back to the little area of wide trees. Will had been practising for an hour at most in silence. He knew Evanlyn was being quiet to help him focus and he was glad because it took a lot of his concentration to judge distances, leverage etc. He had decided he was done for the day and after he released the last arrow in his quiver he said.

"I'm done now, we can go home or whatever home you can call the Oberjarls sleeping buildings." No answer. "Evanlyn?" He looked around his eyes on the place where he had last seen her resting but it was empty. His eyes scanned around the forest but it was deserted. She was missing.

**Please review and tell me what you think of this chapter. Like most authors I need feed back like a moth needs light. It's annoying but necessary!**


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

The evening light bounced off the rows of silver cutlery and platter, on the platter rows of chicken legs, beef steaks, lamb stews all the different types of meat a man could wish for in heaven. The food, the sunlight and the aroma all intoxicated Horace with the sweet smell of finger licking grease. He was a growing boy after all and growing boys rarely missed opportunities to eat food like this. Especially Horace. There were no vegetable platters or any sort of steamed greens but Horace didn't mind, essentially he was a carnivore resorting to greens when there was no meat available. He sat down next to a burly Skandian who was already tearing at the mutton leg as if it was fluff while taking deep draughts of his ale tankard that was beside him. He sighed gratefully while filling his silver plate with vast amounts of meat and filling his tankard with plain water.

"How you can eat like an overgrown pig is beyond me." The unfriendly voice of Halts rang out to him as he saw him settling down directly opposite.

"I do not eat like an overgrown pig thank you very much; I eat like an overgrown boy." Horace replied distinctly.

"Oh please if there were no Skandians in the room right now you probably would have eaten everything in here edible or not." He said while successfully hiding a grin.

"Look I don't like seeing food wasted. Why is that such a bad thing to you?" The answer to that question however was not answered as Halt sniffed while gathering warm food on his plate and without looking up greeted Will.

"For some reason Horace feels like eating like an overgrown pig." For a second Horace felt confused wondering who Halt was talking to then jumped as he saw Will smirking behind his back.

"Well Halt I don't see why that's a surprise, we always knew Horace was destined to be a bachelor that swore his life to marrying just food." Will replied in a carefree manner. Perhaps if Halt had looked up to see his young apprentices face he may have noticed a shadow of doubt and anxiety from time to time but as it was Halt was too intent on the food to notice. Horace did look up to see Will's face but him being no master of perception couldn't make out anything unusual with his small friend.

"Well are you planning to sit down or are you going to stand there like a buffoon, the both of you humiliate me enough as it is." Halt was still concentrating on cutting the succulent pork cutlets gathered on his plate. Will grinned at the jibe.

"No actually I just needed to speak with Horace for a second about our plans for the archers and shield bearers." He nodded to Horace as a motion for him to get up while Horace looked wistfully at the meat filled plate but rose anyway to accompany Will out of the front doors. He thought Will seemed awfully quiet tonight and was curious as to what was going on but when he looked at his friend's face he saw no emotions gathered on it. They walked on in silence. Once they were out of the hall Horace noticed Will's face change instantly to an expression of concern.

"Will what's wrong?" Horace was beginning to feel concerned. He knew Will was usually very calm under pressure and knew how to handle situations critically, the thought of his friend being worried about something made Horace feel naturally anxious.

"Horace, Evanlyn's missing." The bluntness in his tone was unmistakeable as Will paced up and down the warm corridors that had long wooden poles with fire on top every 10 metres or so. Horace looked confused.

"Missing? I thought you wanted to talk to me about the shield bearers? And wasn't she last seen with you?"

"Well initially yes but I was practising and I didn't see or hear anything happen to her." Will decidedly ignored the previous question.

"Well you should have." Horace replied forcefully. "After all you are a Ranger. How could you let this happen? How could you be so careless?"

"Woah calm down I told you I was practising and you know that takes a lot of concentration." Will was on defensive mode now and he thought that Horace was laying it on him a little rough. "Besides she could be anywhere I haven't checked every room yet I just thought you ought to know that's all." Will made a placatory gesture and Horace calmed down a bit. Only a bit. He was worried though. He had come to like the small pretty girl and the idea of losing her made him feel weak and irresponsible.

"How many rooms have you checked?" Horace asked a little sceptically. Will eyed him carefully since he realised Horace was obviously on edge he told the truth.

"I checked her room, her maid's room; I asked her maid and anyone who may have been associated with her. No one knows where she is but she could just be wondering out on her own."

"No Evanlyn wouldn't be that careless." Horace countered then a thought occurred. "Hey did you tell Halt yet?" Horace asked quickly.

"No. I thought it was best not to since he already has enough on his plate without this and if this does turn out to be Evanlyn being careless then it would have been a waste of his time."

"I told you EVANLYN WAS NOT CARELESS. WHATEVER HAPPENED TO HER WAS YOUR FAULT!" Horace shouted the last eleven words. Will actually recoiled two steps back. He had never witnessed his friend to be out of control like this. Usually whenever Will saw him Horace looked calm and peaceful yet deadly. This Horace though was an enraged teenage boy that was taller than half the Skandians, and Will recognised his friend's desperation and realised that he was just as anxious and nervous as Will was.

"Horace relax. Calm down"

"Don't tell me to calm down when I'm angry that just makes me angrier!" He said in an exasperated tone but at least that tone was different from his tone of anger. Will had already made his plan from seeing Horace's grim face.

"Right Horace. We're going to find her. We're going to find her together."

"Agreed" and so both boys turned their backs from the hall and the food inside it and walked with sheer determination in their stances. Both faces set with a motive. Find Evanlyn.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

The warm yellow sun rays always appeared at this time of morning basking any object in its path with heat and protection. Protection from the cold and dark. The stormy winter season was subsiding to present a new spring one. It was early days yet but many Skandians had high hopes for the weather most of them being expert weather forecasters themselves could predict when the seas would be most calm. This was the time of year when the radiance of the sun nourished everything. However there was always one small place where the sun beams could never reach. That place was always enveloped in darkness suffocating any presence within its boundaries. He woke up automatically at the beginning of dawn. Years of waking up at this time and being forced to do grindingly hard, menial exercises had eventually taken its toll on his sleeping patterns and whenever it was near dawn his eyes would flutter open and he would sit up wide awake. He threw off his blanket that provided meagre warmth as it was and stood up swaying to one side. His father would be angry with him he knew as he was supposed to be keeping watch, but as a general rule his father was always angry, either at him or his mother who was no longer with them. His father never ran short of the insulting pieces of offending remarks he could come up with. Each one an individual form of torture and seeing his fathers face after the taunts made bile reach his throat. A huge crooked smile would appear making his face even uglier than it was before, showing his uneven wobbly teeth and smelling the pungent odour of alcohol and sweat that radiated off of him. Personally he didn't know why he listened to his father. He had never been nice to him and wherever he could his dad would always taunt and tease him. Then again when he was drunk taunting and teasing wouldn't do. No, his father would resort to physical means of venting out his anger. This usually consisted of a whiplash and screams of agony torn from his mother which was partly the reason as to why she was no longer with them. When his mother was no longer with them he became the next victim.

He shook his head clear of those vile thoughts and forced himself to make breakfast. He had all the utensils in his leather bag and picking them up gingerly he forced himself to the little pile of wood at the centre of the ground. He was stuck in the ruins of an old castle that had once been a majestic beauty. After all it was the least likely place for people to find him especially as Skandians had many superstitions regarding the isolated area, though him and his father were never ones to take them seriously as they preferred to prove things than listen to idle rumours. He decided to cook beef strips and pieces of bacon to put them on flat bread which he was warming up now. The succulent juices of meat set his mouth watering and his stomach growling so hurriedly taking them off the fire he grabbed whatever food that was on his plate and shoved it in his mouth uncaring that the food was still burning hot. The girl's nose twitched delicately and her arms began to stretch then stopped where the ropes prevented her from moving her arms further. She opened her eyes shocked then memories flooded back to her fuddled brain and she slumped her shoulders in a gesture of defeat. He felt sympathy for her. She was a young foreign girl, one that he could have come to like, one that he did like. He admired her courage before she was about to be abducted and he admired her cool acceptation as to what was to become of her and her alert and steady eyes staring intently at anyone that came across her view. If it were up to him he would never have taken her in the first place. He would never have taken anyone. Then again these decisions were not for him to decide, it was his father who dealt with stabbings in dark alleyways and abduction in lonesome areas. He felt that he should obey to his father now though. He had already disgraced him enough and he remembered the day vividly when he chose to become a part of Oberjarl Erak's crew rather than his fathers one. He was a talented young man whose gifts were greatly admired by the Skandian Oberjarl who offered him the chance of a lifetime to fight alongside the burly pirate. Who could refuse? Erak was a popular figure in Halloshalm somewhat regarded as a celebrity due to his outstanding achievements whereas his father was known as a coward. The town bully in smaller terms. His crew mainly involved rag tag drunkards that had no other place left for them to go, he couldn't have become part of a crew like that. His father may have disapproved however he knew in his heart he had made the right decision and that feeling of unity and friendship could never have been forged by his father's crew.

"Can you give me a bit of food please?" The girl's voice snapped him out of his thoughts. He looked over to her where she had her hands stretched out in a pleading manner with a look of sheer innocence written on her face. He took pity on her and without speaking handed her some of the beef strips then sat back down to watch her. She seemed to be hungrier than he was, devouring the food probably not even tasting it he mused. "What is going to happen to me?" She had finished eating and her question took him by surprise. She seemed to have a knack for starting conversations despite polite courtesy telling you not to. Then again since when did Skandians have any courtesy?

"Honestly I don't know. My father has yet to decide what is to become of you."

"Well when he does make up his mind be sure to tell me." She replied in a sardonic manner.

"I am sorry girl. I never wanted to hurt you or take you, I didn't want anything to do with you but what can I do I have to obey my father."

"Well you don't have to…" She left the sentence hanging hoping he would take the message but her hope was a wasted one as he studiously ignored her hint.

"Anyways I'm sure nothing serious will happen the only person he wants is the one that humiliated him in Skhorghijil so I'm told." He laughed grimly before continuing "Whoever she is, is one unlucky lass after he gets his hands on her." He was shaking his head now. Then a thought occurred to him. "Wait where are you from?" She was already shaking her head her skin two shades paler than before and her eyes wide with horror.

"That's my son Ulfak there who abducted you. A little more bloody proud of him now than I was before, but at least he's done something right for a change huh? Now the question is what to do with a piece of vermin like yourself?" The stale smell of cheap beer was present in the room and she knew the smell, the voice and those beady pair of suspicious eyes all too well.

"Slagor." She breathed. The mist hanging around her words, her heart cracked in a thousand pieces.

"Hello sweetey did you miss me?" A bucktoothed grin lurking around the corner of his lips.

**A little shorter than before but I wanted to leave the chapter on a cliffhanger. Bet you didn't see that coming did you? Or maybe you did never mind. Whatever thoughts you did have on the chapter though can be expressed freely after clicking the genius button called Review. Please do it!**


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

**Sorry for the delays in continuing this fanfiction. I was a little occupied in writing my other one but now I'm continuing this one as well I hope you like it!**

The sound of hooves rang across the cobbled pathway as the two determined riders set out for the unknown. The muscular apprentice who was in full metal armour sat astride Kicker, his battle horse who seemed to tower over the next rider who was dressed in muted green and brown items of clothing and a cloak that managed to blur his outline considerably. This rider was no where near as muscular as the former, and his short legged horse did not assist in making him more intimidating however, the look in his eyes prevented anyone from doubting his ability. Both were talented. When combined together they made a deadly pair.

"Wait let's stop here." Will said while scanning the area. Horace looked at him as if he might have been crazy.

"Will, we're barely out of Halloshalm what are you talking about?" Horace asked confused. He knew his friend had good ideas but all Horace wanted to do was ride out as fast as he could to find Evanlyn. Will turned in his saddle to look sidelong at his friend. He could see Horace fidgeting uncontrollably, in a rush to find their friend. Tug also seemed to look at Horace and he made a face almost as if he was raising an eyebrow.

"Horace what do you plan to do? We are in a foreign land full of deadly warriors and our friend is missing. We don't even know where she is, what did you want to do search the entire kingdom in search of her?" Will asked a little annoyed. Horace's demeanour was beginning to annoy him since he already had a plan in mind. Horace immediately recognised his friend's logic and shrugged in a gesture of apology.

"Sorry Will, I just want to find her and keep her safe; I don't want her to get hurt. The thought of losing such a pretty girl is too much to bear. Her lips her face her hair are so beautiful…" Horace trailed off. He blushed in embarrassment as Will raised his eyebrow in mock astonishment. This wasn't the first time Will had the feeling that Horace was a little on the weird side. Tug nickered in agreement.

"Right anyway." Will was still looking at him and Horace cleared his throat noisily. "I suggest we get information from a reliable source so that we can be certain about the whereabouts of Evanlyn."

"Right and where are we going to find someone like that?" Horace asked sarcastically.

"We've already found her." Will said a smile lighting up his face. Stumbling out of a dingy tavern a girl with blonde hair and blue eyes was carrying a basket full of loaves while yelling at the owner inside.

"WELL IF YOU WANTED ME TO SERVE THE CUSTOMERS ALL YOU HAD TO DO WAS ASK YOU FAT TART!" She blew hair out of her face noisily and looked up to see Will on the verge of cracking up. "Oh hey Will what are you doing here?" She asked curiously.

"Hello Tyra I was wondering whether you could help us with something, but if you're busy…" His grin widened.

"Shut up. Of course I can help you guys. Shoot away." She walked along the narrow side path and Will, getting off Tug joined her while Horace on Kicker trotted along side them.

"Well you know Evanlyn right?" Will asked a little nervously. He knew their friendship to be a tenuous one but he needed her help. Tyra sighed inwardly.

"Of course I do what kind of question is that?" She joked.

"Well as it happens she is missing." He said.

"Missing? How are you going to get to her then?" Tyra may have had disagreements with Evanlyn but even she wasn't cold hearted.

"Well, both Horace and I think that someone might have taken her since she's not stupid enough to get lost here."

"That's what you say." Tyra mumbled.

"Sorry what?" He asked confused.

"Oh nothing, nothing." She hastily replied.

"Right well the only person I know that is smarter than most men and can get around this kingdom is you." She flushed at his deliberate praise. Horace seeing her flush smiled sensing what Will was doing. By complimenting her he was making her more willing to help them.

"O.K so you want me to help you to try and see if I know any places where people might take her?" She asked.

"Pretty much." Will concluded. He watched her anxiously as her fingers tapped her chin and her hair blew out in the breeze. After a while of silence she finally stopped walking and both boys stopped with her.

"I know. There's a place where most Skandians regard as haunted." She whispered with a manic look in her eye. Will and Horace looked at each other then looked back at her as she continued. "It's the old ruins of a castle that was once a grand fortress, many Skandians are superstitious as you know so they try to avoid that place since there's an old legend about it." She said mystically.

"Well?" Horace asked anxiously.

"Well what?" She asked back confused.

"Well what is the legend?" He questioned her.

"Oh I don't know. Probably something to do with sorcery as such but it doesn't matter as it isn't true anyways." She replied.

"O.K so where exactly is this place?" Will asked.

"Right, it's to your south, keep going in that direction until you see a tumble of rocks then head east there you should see two paths take the right one and continue for two hundred yards then you will see broken bits of jagged rocks and that's your place." After she directed them Will hugged her in his excitement and thanked her many times. She flushed at his open show of affection and bade them luck on their journey. Will hopped on to Tug and nudged his knee gently against the horse's body to direct him in the right direction. Horace followed.

"Will?" He asked.

"Yes Horace."

"Are you sure this is where they'll be keeping Evanlyn?" There was a worried frown on his face.

"Well I'm pretty sure. The ruins of a castle seem to be the perfect place for this kind of thing so if I were the abductor I would probably go there as well." He assured.

They both rode for twenty minutes then let the horses conserve energy and walk for twenty minutes and this alternating pattern soon came to a stop as the icy hills and frosty paths soon passed them and the outline of massive rocks came to view.

"This is it." Will told Horace. He nodded in turn. He stopped fidgeting and relaxed all his muscles easing them out and unsheathed his massive sword from his scabbard. Will didn't need to do anything with his arrows as one was knocked on his bow, but he placed the bow in a more comfortable position in case it was needed and quietly, in a well rehearsed manner jumped off Tug and made the hand signal for him to stay still. Tug was worried for his master but obeyed his orders. Horace tied Kicker to a dying tree near by and together they both walked slowly, bracing themselves for what they may find. As they rounded the corner and entered the realm of danger both of them stopped in their tracks shocked at the horrid sight before them. It took nearly all of Will's will power not to scream.

**If you liked this mini cliff hanger or you have any opinions on this chapter I want to see them! Thank you for being patient and I will try and update more frequently now on.**


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Horace could be defined with many characteristics such as loyalty, bravery, compassionate, merciful and many more in opinions of those who have met him, however he also had a habit of being extremely impatient as warriors in definition were men of action. Holding his sword in a sweeping action he charged out only to be dragged back by Will who was hiding behind a towering boulder.

"Will what are you doing?" He asked furious. Adrenaline was pumping hard through his veins and he knew that the moment to launch a good attack was when there was a sufficient amount of energy inside him, so that it made him fast and reactive. Horace though did have enough common sense to whisper as Will obviously didn't want to be found.

"Wait we should stop here and see what's going on." He said patiently.

"Wait? We've seen all there is to see Will, or can you not see what's happened to Evanlyn?" Horace argued. For he was right as Will had already noticed. There was a huge amount of blood loss on one side of Evanlyn's stomach as the red liquid made its way down her clothes, drenching them with more blood trying to burst free from her wound. Will assessed the danger by scanning his eyes effortlessly around the immediate area and had already concluded that her wound was a dangerous one since not only was the cut piercing but the weapon that damaged her was pulled out of her stomach again, making the blood able to run more freely out of her wound. He was thankful that he had the sense in bringing his medical kit which was strapped across his shoulder.

"We need to find out if there is anyone else here Horace. What good will we do if we rush out only to be hurt or killed? Who will help Evanlyn then?" Will whispered quickly as he formulated a plan in his mind.

"So what do you suggest we do? Let the stabbers get away and then let her die because we're waiting here prancing around for no reason?" Horace retorted, anger rising inside him.

"No. There is no immediate danger from what I can gather there's only one man around and I'm pretty sure that it's Slagor." He replied. At first the initial shock of seeing the slimy Skandian once again was enough to make him scream in animal terror but he quickly controlled himself and hid behind the boulder to see what the sly man would do next. Slagor, he could see was circling Evanlyn while laughing at her pain. Will felt livid as he saw her scream with agony and no help was being given. He could hear his heart pounding in his ears and his blood rushing in his body. He quickly explained what had to be done to Horace who, at first was seething with impatience but then nodded his understanding and brought the first phase of the plan to action. It was a simple enough plan, but one only someone with a cool head would have had the patience to make. Horace ran out of the protective cover and swirled his sword, acting as if he were a pathetic swords man making the swirls clumsy and holding his sword loosely. Slagor turned to face the newcomer and his face made Will sick. It was a mixture of delight and anger and the conflicting emotions played across his square face, making him look more troll like than he did before. Evanlyn turned to face Horace, her eyes wide with surprise, gurgled trying to tell him to run away but only blood poured out of her mouth instead of words. Slagor laughed louder than he had done the entire day. They began to circle around each other trying to find a weak spot in the other one's armour. Then Horace attacked. Sloppy untimed strokes were given from him which served to make Slagor laugh harder, the strokes were easily blocked by Slagor's massive shield and with one rough swing with his shield he had Horace completely knocked over. He stood in front of the muscled boy that seemingly had no skill with his weapons.

"You really shouldn't have done that boy. I am one of the best Skandian fighters in this Kingdom. But it was sweet that finally someone had the decency to come and try and rescue this serving girl, though it is a shame that it had to be someone as pathetic as you." He raised his broad sword above his head to stab downwards as a dangerous killing stroke but before he did he asked. "Any last words before you never see the light of day again?"

"Yes. I'm not the pathetic one you are you oaf, and you fell right into our trap." Horace's facial expression changed from fear to confidence in a blink of an eye as he saw Will behind Slagor with his saxe knife ready to knock him out. Slagor unfortunately couldn't resist the temptation to turn and he found his head being banged against the solid material of Will's knife. Immediately his legs lost any power they might have held and he slumped to the ground dropping his sword. Will reacted quickly and pulled Horace up then rushed towards Evanlyn, Horace right behind him as Will cut the cords strapping her to a wooden mast. He then gently laid her down on the ground and rummaged in his medical bag to find a canteen of cold water. Horace who was behind him had heard a rustling sound nearby and snapped his head up to find another Skandian lying in wait to attack. This one seemed familiar Horace thought, then it dawned on him that he was the same one he fought back in the practise area a couple of days ago. He racked his brain and remembered that his name was Ulfak.

"Will there's another Skandian here; you look after her while I take care of him." He said. Will nodded in agreement too busy to say any words in reply. After finding the canteen filled with water he poured some of it into her mouth to let the blood wash out then he washed the wound to clear the blood away and to get a better view of the damage. He gasped a little in shock, and after pressing softly against her stomach saw that one artery must have been cut and he knew that if he didn't work efficiently she may well bleed to death very quickly. He wasn't an experienced enough healer to know the exact procedures that had to be taken, but he remembered vaguely his days in the Ward when he would visit the local castle healer and ask questions about the fine art of medicine. There was one piece of advice that popped into his brain just then, and quickly he searched his bag for olives, grabbed a half a dozen from the jar hastily and immediately set up a brief fire to heat them in. He knew the process in theory when it was explained to him but to do it in action was a completely different matter.

* * *

"What are you doing here Ulfak?" Horace asked as calmly as he could manage. He had come to like the tall Skandian and he didn't want to have to fight him. Ulfak himself wasn't entirely sure as to what he was doing or why he was attacking the young boy that had only done what was right, all he knew was that despite the flaring rages his father went through and the sins he committed he felt a sense of attachment to the dirty looking man, a sense of loyalty that had never been there before, so he knew he couldn't just let this pleasant stranger leave without fighting in his fathers place and defending his honour. Besides it was Skandian tradition to fight for family whether you loved them or not he thought.

"You killed my father."

"No I didn't my friend knocked him out." Horace said simply. Surprise flitted across Ulfak's face as he registered those words. His father wasn't dead. Instantly he changed his emotion to gratitude.

"Sorry about my father and thank you young man I've told him countless times to put an end to what he was doing but he never listened to me." Horace had his doubts at first when he heard Ulfak apologise since he could have been bluffing to ensure he didn't have any punishments, but when Horace thought about it he knew inside that Ulfak was telling the truth.

"Alright tie him up and make sure the knot is tight." Horace nudged with his foot at the unconscious man that was beginning to stir and Ulfak already set to work grabbing some ropes nearby and dragging his father to the closest tree. Horace then rushed over to Will's side to see how he was getting along.

* * *

Out of the corner of Will's eye he saw Horace's figure edge slowly towards him shuffling his feet as he walked.

"Is there anything you need Will?" Horace was wringing his hands apprehensively trying to waste the energy building up inside him as he couldn't help his friend.

"Yes could you please heat these olives up on that metal tray there." He pointed his bloodstained hands in the direction where Ulfak had left the metal tray that morning and Horace, picking it up took the olives and did as Will told him. This was an area Will definitely excelled at more than Horace.

"Er Will why do we have to heat up olives?" He asked confused. He saw Will gently dabbing at her wound with a wet swab he had in his bag.

"Because one of her arteries have been cut and if we don't work quickly she could bleed to death." Will was too stressed on trying to keep her alive that he didn't even try to make her situation sound lighter than it was, even though he knew Horace had a propensity to worry.

"Yes but why exactly do we need olives?" Horace's curiosity took over this time which was a rare case for him.

"The olives are clean substances, the oil in it will keep the heat from the fire and it's that heat that will work to seal the blood vessel so make sure when you take the olives off the tray they're scalding hot." Will ordered still gently dabbing the blood away. Horace picked the tray up with infinite care even though he could feel his fingers blistering and passed them to Will, who picked the olives up quickly and eased them in and out of the wound.

"Should we move her now?" Horace had noticed it was getting quite windy.

"Definitely not, if we move her she would probably start bleeding again; no we have to keep her here." Will answered with a frown on his forehead.

"Aren't you going to bandage her?" Horace did have a basic training in healing and was surprised to see Will shake his head.

"No, an infection may start if I bandaged her now, there may be other things that need to come out as well, in the meantime we'll just have to wait and see." Sensing that that explanation wasn't good enough Will asked him to accompany Ulfak to Ragnak's hall and explain the situation there.

"What? But what about you?" Horace was biting his nails for the umpteenth time.

"We'll manage don't worry besides, Ulfak isn't to be trusted. If he stays here and attacks I won't be strong enough to kill him but if he's sent alone he may never tell anyone what happened here in an act to defend himself." Will pointed out wisely. He also added. "Also you need to bring a healer back here, I'm not entirely sure that what I've done is right. I was working on a theory I heard Kyle the Redmont healer tell me when I was young." Will stood up stretching his back muscles and went to the stream beside the ruins to clean his hands.

"What? You don't know whether what you did was right? Well then what if you did do something wrong? She could die." Horace said following him.

"I know Horace which is why I am asking you to bring a healer, but you need to have some faith." Will pleaded. A shout came from inside the ruins that echoed out towards them.

"SHE'S AWAKE, SHE'S AWAKE!" Ulfak shouted. Will and Horace both ran towards Evanlyn and saw her eyelids flutter open and a moan come out of her lips.

"She's alive." Both boys said at the same time. A feeling of relief rose up inside Will.

Shortly after that Horace took his leave with Ulfak and together they made their way towards the main hall in Halloshalm.

* * *

The next two days Will spent bathing her wound, applying poultices, checking to see if there was any infection and giving her as much nutrients as possible. Tug was moved into the ruins so that Will could take his one man tent off and place Evanlyn inside it. Every evening he would make a chicken soup accompanied with many vegetables and plenty of water until she could sit up and feed herself. He was sitting by the fire warming up when she finally opened her mouth and spoke to him.

"Thank you." Her skin was sallow and her figure was skinny, yet to Will she seemed so beautiful. Those two words uttered from her lips did more to him than he ever imagined possible.

"It's alright." He said to her while blushing. He saw she still had goose bumps on her skin even though she was sitting near the fire, so he got up and taking the blanket from inside the tent crouched towards her and wrapped her in it and rubbed her arms to warm her up. She smiled in gratitude from the unspoken act of kindness.

"Thank you again; I really don't know what I would have done without you." She said.

"Really I did the basics any one would have been able to do that." He mumbled.

"Not anyone." She shook her head and looked him in the eye. He looked back at her and saw more than just gratitude in her eyes. He saw love there too. He didn't know however whether it was love for him as a brother or as a lover. Evanlyn looked at him and saw the mental struggle in his mind and decided to make the first move. She leaned in closer her breath clouding around her, and seeing what she had in mind he did too, their lips meeting in the middle. A soft, gentle kiss that showed their affection more than words ever could. Both their lips were surprisingly soft and fitted around each other's perfectly. They both felt a sense of being complete and to both of them it felt like _finally, finally it was happening._

**Thank you to those who have read this. I decided to make the ending sweet this time instead of a cliffhanger since I thought it was time something happened between the two. Also the knowledge of the whole process of Will healing Evanlyn in this chapter is from a book I read recently so I take no credit from that. Review please to tell me what you thought of this chapter and thank you all for the constructive criticisms that I haven't been reading (jokes) I have and they are useful so thanks again. **


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

The young Araluans were found soon enough and were hastily separated from each other so the healer could check Evanlyn's wound, thus being unable to discuss the sudden turn in their relationship. Will could still remember her inexpressibly soft lips that lingered on his afterwards, how she looked deep into his eyes and truly saw him, his eyes were usually guarded. He never let any one get that close to him yet she managed to break down all the barriers he had set up and for that he felt extremely vulnerable. He didn't know how she felt about him. The kiss for all he knew could have been an irrational instinct she had in the heat of the moment. He needed to see her and know whether she felt the same way about him as he did about her otherwise the year of pent up affection he wanted to express would go to waste.

"Will? Will? WILL!" He looked up to see Halt's angry face looming before him. "Were you listening to anything I just said?" He asked furious. Halt hated having to talk more than necessary and repeating things _was_ talking more than necessary.

"Oh sorry I was a little busy." Will said distractedly. Halt's face immediately softened. He knew what Will must have been going through when Evanlyn was whisked away to see the healer, he must be worried sick about her Halt thought. He wondered if anyone else could notice how attached the two young people were towards each other, or whether it was just him. To Halt it was blatantly obvious that their friendship was blossoming towards love, though he reckoned some people may not be too happy about that. Horace especially.

"Look Will, I know you want to check on Evanlyn but you have a duty here as well. You have to lead these archers into battle and they need to be able to put their full trust in your leadership and skills." It had been a couple of weeks in the running since Will came up with the idea of having basic archers shoot volleys of deadly arrows at the enemy. Only Will hadn't been able to keep up to date as his mind and stomach were full of butterflies. What would he say to her when he saw her? What if he did see her and realised their kiss was a mistake? What if she's in love with someone else? Those questions had been attacking his mind for most of the day and he hadn't come up with a solution to any of them.

"You're right Halt sorry." This time Will shook his head, his shaggy hair swinging from side to side and had a focused look in his eyes. Halt nodded in approval.

"Right get to work and show them everything they need to know, and it would help if you had different positions for each type of shot." He added.

"O.K sure thing I'm on it." And with a positive attitude Will set out to turning a bunch of angry slaves to fearsome archers.

* * *

A light was just visible underneath the heavy weight of her eyelids. With a groan that escaped her lips Evanlyn propped herself into a more comfortable position so that the pillow was wedged in nicely to support her back but she could also lean her head against it if she needed to. She surveyed her surroundings, curiosity mounting. She was being held in a shabby looking room that didn't seem to be used very often. In the far side of the room she could make out scrolls of parchment piled high on top of each other precariously, the whole room contained shelves. Shelves full of glass jars which had unusual looking potions and unknown animal parts. There was only one possible explanation for all the bizarre objects. This had to be a healer's room. From the other side of the walls she heard a faint bustling sound that could only mean someone was with her most probably taking care of her. Before she decided to make her consciousness known to the stranger, she tried to remember the reason why she was stuck here. Then the memories came flooding back. She gasped and began to hyperventilate, short breaths stuck in her throat as she remembered the agonising pain of his sword. She didn't like to think of his name. It just brought a wave of nausea that she couldn't repress. Instead she named him as if he was an object because he certainly wasn't human in her opinion. No human could be so cruel and careless. She skipped the thoughts of pain knowing that if she hesitated on them any longer, her wound would feel raw as if it was being opened again. Obviously that wasn't the case it would all be psychological she knew, though she wouldn't be able to bear it. Whether the pain was real or not. Quickly she focused on the anonymous gentle, soothing hands that had taken care of her, tending to her wound and efficiently applying remedies to her. She had the distinct feeling that it was Will that had taken care of her but of course she had been on the verge of unconsciousness, her mind drifting between reality and the calming blackness that had almost but invaded her brain. No, she was certain it was Will who looked after her. After she had regained consciousness she had to prod him continuously until he admitted who saved her. She never had any doubt as to who saved her. She knew Will had freed her in every way possible, making her whole again after she had been broken into pieces, emotionally and physically she thought grimly. There had been one night though. One night, that changed the way she would think about him forever. She had always thought of him as more than just a friend or a simple companion. He had seen her and helped her when she became the lowest of the low. He inadvertently set out to make her life better, to take more of the work load than she did, to make her smile when she felt like crying and to comfort her from his heart when she did end up crying. He did more than was ever expected of a friend and for that she would forever be grateful. Their fiery moment of passion beside the warm glow of the fire light arrived to her mind. That was her first ever kiss. She had often wondered in her bedroom what it would feel like to be kissed. The majority of the time she expected the faceless boy's lips to be rough and chapped. She didn't know which boy would kiss her at the time so her mind framed a faceless boy that was around her age that shared the same passion for her as she did for him. She had always fantasised over her first kiss ever since she was a young child, she had thought that when the time came for her real kiss it wouldn't be nearly as good as her imagined ones. It was even better. The unexpected smoothness of his lips came as a nice surprise and even though he had the same hunger for her lips as she did for his, his kiss was unusually soft. As if he didn't want to hurt her.

"My dear you're awake!" An old motherly voice snapped her out of her daydreaming. A plump rounded woman was making her way towards her with a warm smile etched on her face.

"Hi" Evanlyn said shyly.

"Well look at you, you seem to be a whole lot better now." The woman was still smiling at her in a friendly manner.

"Thank you…"

"Kierra is my name."

"Well then thank you Kierra."

"No problem love, after all I really didn't do much, all I had to do was give you a sleeping draught and check your current condition which was perfectly fine. You are a lucky girl you know, if it wasn't for the fine young lad that fixed you up I shudder to think where you would have been."

"I know I have a lot to thank him for."

"He spent nearly the whole night by your side when you first came in here, I told him again and again that he didn't need to but he was stubborn he was. Wouldn't take no for an answer."

"That sounds a lot like him." Evanlyn smiled.

"You don't get more devoted boys than that. It seems like he was in love with you. Is he your brother?" She mused.

"No, he's just a friend."

"Oh he's certainly more than a friend all right; he must be in love with you." Evanlyn felt as if she was walking on air. She always knew Will loved her and to have those feelings expressed out loud gave her such an immense joy that she burst out laughing.

"What is it dear? I don't recall saying anything funny." Kierra asked, ever so slightly concerned for her sanity as she began to cry from laughter and joy.

"I think I feel the same way about him and we did kiss after all." Evanlyn replied euphoric at the thought of her and Will being together. Kierra joined in with the laughing.

"Oh I remember the joy of young love; it's the best type of joy you can imagine." Kierra sighed. "Well at any rate you best tell him how you feel. It's a very rare occasion when you meet a boy as fine as this one if I were you I would tell him exactly how you feel."

"But what if he doesn't feel the same way?" Evanlyn asked worried.

Of course he feels the same way; you just told me he kissed you." Kierra said with logic on her side.

"Yes I know but if he did feel the same way then why hasn't he said anything yet?"

"Because he's a boy!" Seeing that the statement wasn't enough Kierra added. "Look boys can never express their feelings the way girls can; you know that, he's probably just as worried as you are which is why he isn't saying anything yet." She looked at Evanlyn's face beginning to consider her theory.

"I guess you're right I should go and tell him shouldn't I?" She wanted reassurance. Kierra was the closest person she had to a mother at the moment and she didn't want to lose the feeling of security that washed over her every time she heard Kierra's motherly voice.

"Definitely." Kierra said.

* * *

"Position four. SHOOT" Evanlyn heard Will's voice break with tension as he shouted the last word and smiled inwardly.

"SHIELD" Horace's voice boomed across the field with absolute authority and every shield swung shut in unison, looking extremely impressive from where she was standing. Will, with blinding speed knocked an arrow to his bow and shot at the khajin pop ups that kept appearing. So far he hit every single one.

"EVANLYN! You're back." Horace proclaimed as he ran down the slight hill he was standing on, to greet her. Will noticing Horace's loud yell turned around to see her walking towards them waving happily. Suddenly Will felt very self conscious. The last time they had met they kissed each other and he was aware just then that his voice had broken when shouting orders at his team. So instead of rushing towards her like Horace had done, he turned to face his team.

"You guys can have a break for the rest of the day it's getting pretty late, but remember if I've asked any of you to correct any mistakes you've made while shooting, then I expect it to be done by tomorrow." All the older slaves nodded in assent at his words. They still remembered when the older grizzly ranger showcased Will's skill to the rest of the group. Never again were they to doubt his ability. They also were a little in awe of the young apprentice as he was extremely polite and showed everyone exactly what had to be done, with a lot of patience. Many of these slaves had been in Skandia for so long they had forgotten the feeling of warmth and happiness. This young boy had managed to promise them freedom for them and their families whilst being fair. The rest of the men got up slowly and made their way towards the refreshments area where the women were providing drinks. Seeing that everyone was in order, he sighed slightly and jogged towards Horace and Evanlyn, who were sitting under the shade of a tree while the sun was setting.

"Hey." Will said to them as he arrived. Instinctively he climbed up the tree to a low branch and sat there, not really listening to Horace rambling on to Evanlyn as he described the shield bearer's arrangements. Evanlyn wasn't entirely listening either, just enough to be able to nod in the right places and add a comment or a question in. What she really wanted was to be alone with Will so they could discuss everything but she didn't have the heart to tell Horace to go. Eventually Horace yawned and after claiming he had to go to sleep otherwise he would get cranky in the morning, he walked in the direction of his sleeping chamber. There was a long silence between both companions as the wind blew in their direction, forcing the leaves to flutter manically in the air then finally settle on the ground creating a sea of green and orange.

"Do you want to come up and sit with me?" Will asked. He had been aware of the awkward silence maintained between them and he was determined to break it.

"Er, well I'm not really good at climbing." Evanlyn shrugged. She was a little scared of heights but they weren't her biggest fear.

"Don't worry I'll help you, the view's really good up here anyway." And sliding down the tree easily he swung her onto his back despite her protests and climbed up the tree on to a safe branch that could withstand both their weights.

"Will, really was that necessary?" Then she stopped talking and took an intake of breath at the beautiful view. "Oh my goodness this is amazing Will."

"I know, I usually climb trees when I want to be alone or to think, and to also look at the beautiful scenery." He murmured. Evanlyn turned towards him very carefully so as not to lose her balance.

"Will we need to talk." She began. Will looked at her and nodded silently at her to continue. "It's about our kiss. Look Will the truth is I love you, more than words can express and I think you love me back but I'm not sure." The way she said it sounded lame even to her own ears but out of the corner of her eye she saw him frown. Her heart began to sink.

"Think? _Think?_ How could you _think _I love you back? You should _know_ I love you, isn't it obvious, I mean why do you think I cut my long shaggy hair with a saxe knife? It's because of you." He said it with fire and humour deep in his eyes and she knew then that everything was going to be alright. After he said it she realised how uneven his hair looked. Some strands of hair were longer than others but not noticeably, though rather than it detracting from his looks it made him look better, a little rebel like.

"You cut your own hair? Well that explains it." She said while laughing.

"Cut it out it's not funny, you don't know how much of an effect you have on people you know? Especially me. I would never normally cut my hair like this, but I wanted to impress you and since there were no barber shops around I really had no choice." He said it with humour and embarrassment in his voice. She decided it was time to make him feel a little better.

"Well I like it, it makes you look cool."

"No you're just saying that to make me feel better." Though despite his remark she could see his eyes had lightened up at her response.

"No really it does make you look good, a little mental but good all the same." Her plan worked he laughed.

"Well thank you for that piece of compliment I really appreciate it." He said in a sardonic way.

"Will?"

"Yes Evanlyn."

"What are we then?"

"What do you mean?"

"As in, are we like boyfriend and girlfriend now?" She asked. She never really knew how the relationship status worked and she wanted his opinion before she jumped to conclusions.

"Most probably yes." He replied casually. She smiled then said.

"Don't couples usually kiss then?" She kept her face innocent as she asked the question.

"Ye-es" He stretched out the word not sure where she was getting at.

"Well then shouldn't we kiss?"

"You're getting cheeky today Evanlyn, but if you want to then go on." He said back. He was more than surprised at her request and couldn't help feel happy as her lips captured his delicately and moved in harmony with his. After a long while reluctantly they broke apart, a little breathless. Evanlyn looked at her recent boyfriend and saw how much younger he looked now. Partly it was to do with his cut hair but also the fact that she had never seen him so happy before. He looked like a seventeen year old boy again instead of a middle aged man. She wondered if she had changed the same way, and decided that she most probably had.

**Review please and I hope you liked this chapter. I don't think I'll make my next chapters as lovey dovey since I don't really like detailed romance but I'll add some action in later and some fluffy parts.**


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Skipping down the frosty hall way Evanlyn whistled cheerfully, bringing her own personal warmth and light and filling the corridor with it. She mainly got her optimism for life from Will. He seemed to be happy wherever he went and optimism radiated from him infecting her in a good way.

"You seem unusually happy." A familiar deep voice spoke out to her, and she could tell from the way he was speaking that he was trying to hide a chuckle. She turned at the sound of his voice and saw Horace standing at the beginning of the hall way with his heavily muscled arms folded across his just as muscular chest. She had walked past him so caught up in her thoughts she hadn't realised he was there.

"Oh hey Horace." She smiled at him warmly. He smiled back in a friendly way as he took long strides catching up to her with in seconds.

"Hey Evanlyn." He put his arm around her shoulders and it took quite a lot of effort on her part to make sure her knees didn't buckle. When on earth did his arm become so heavy? He didn't seem to notice her moment of confusion and he started talking again the way he usually did when he was around her.

"Seriously this shield bearing business is tough to the extreme. I mean this sounds like it's going to be an extremely bloody war and Will and I will be caught up in the middle of it. The training's going good so far it's just that Will's quite worried. I sure am glad you're not going to be there." He eyed her nervously as he was talking, waiting to see her reaction.

"Wait why is Will worried?" She immediately smiled when she heard Will's name then it changed to a frown at Horace's statement.

"We-ell, I mean he's doing great he's really good at shooting and directing the archers and all that but he doesn't get the timing right, to be honest I'm quite worried about it too but I don't want to be a pain to Will when he's already worried about the same thing I mean I'm not going to help if I tell him that I think he's got it all wrong and I have no solutions to our problem." He frowned, deep in thought and then looked towards Evanlyn, and seeing more confusion on her face he took a deep breath and began again.

"Look you know the way the whole shield bearer thing works don't you?" seeing her nod he continued "Well since Will is having to direct the archers and shoot the Khajin he's having a difficult time knowing when the archers have knocked their bows so he when he's ordering for them to shoot most of them haven't knocked their bows yet and only half of them are ready to shoot so only half the arrows are flown at the enemy. That means the enemy is likely to be less hurt. It's really frustrating him. He's taking on too much pressure on himself." He saw understanding dawn on Evanlyn's face.

"So basically all he needs is someone who can tell him when the archers are ready." She asked. Horace opened the maple wood doors for the both of them as they entered the eating hall. The massive room buzzed with excitement at the upcoming war and laughter at each other's jokes. They noticed Halt and Will sitting together nursing their coffees while deep in conversation. They made their way towards them.

"Well yes, it's simple enough really but the problem is we don't have enough people as it is so who's going to tell us when the archers are ready?" Horace asked meaning the question to be rhetorical. They sat down opposite the two coffee addicts and Horace almost spluttered over his drink when he heard her answer.

"I am." Certainty ringing in her voice.

"WHAT ARE YOU CRAZY?" Horace barked. So far Will and Halt were too busy discussing Slagor's punishment to greet their companions but at Horace's outburst they felt compelled to. Both their heads snapped up and Will smiled at Evanlyn and watched her blush with huge satisfaction. To distract her from Will's glorious gaze she turned to face Horace.

"No, I'm not being crazy I'm being logical." She said calmly, aware that many Skandian eyes were fixed on her.

"Oh so you think getting yourself killed is logical?" Horace huffed. Evanlyn felt like smacking him as his naturally loud voice attracted yet again more attention from the Skandians. Thankfully Halt interjected on Evanlyn's behalf and serenely told him to shut up before he was forced to cut his ears off as punishment. Horace turned a tomato red and Evanlyn took this chance to retaliate.

"Look who's talking, you're a knight you're not exactly in any position to be discouraging me from fighting, you have to take that risk in every war you fight."

"Yes well I can handle that I mean I'm not a girl like you." Horace blurted. He instantly became aware of his mistake and looked across the table to see Will shaking his head and glaring in a warning. It was too late.

"And what exactly is that supposed to mean?" She asked. It was great discipline on her part that she hadn't already smacked him, since everyone knew how sensitive she was to being underestimated. Halt interrupted again, sensing a brutal fight in the making.

"Back up the oxcart will you and why don't you two tell us what's been going on before this escalates into something dramatic." Evanlyn turned away from Horace still insulted by his remark, to explain her idea to the rest of them. She suddenly realised it was a mistake to be telling Will this since surely he would think the same as Horace though on the contrary, he seemed to warm up to her idea with enthusiasm. Halt like Horace was a little more reluctant.

"You do realise Evanlyn that you're father would have my head if you didn't come back home in one piece?" Halt asked sternly. Will answered for her.

"Yes but I'm sure we can dig some kind of ditch or something to keep her in so that she's safe, and all she has to do is tell me when they're ready."

"Safe." Horace snorted. Will glared at Horace.

"Well what other choice do we have Horace? No one else will be willing and Evanlyn's the person I trust the most." Halt looked at all of the three faces and knew in his heart what his answer would be.

"Alright Evanlyn you can go." He seemed almost exasperated when he said it. She beamed at him then left the hall without touching her food. The same couldn't be said for Horace, who as soon as he saw it gobbled it down in three minutes.

"Will I need to talk to you follow me." Halt got up swiftly and went towards the doors out of the hall and Will, perplexed joined him. Horace was too keen to notice any of them go and soon the afternoon sun spread its rays to the two newcomers outside.

"What is it Halt?" Will was standing behind his mentor, confused at his demeanour.

"Will you need to keep an eye on Slagor." Halt's topic starter completely stunned Will who hadn't even given any thought to the burly Skandian.

"Why? Has he done anything?"

"No not yet." Halt turned to see Will shrug nonchalantly. "It's about what he will do. He's been humiliated twice now Will and that gives him a strong motive." He wanted Will to grasp the seriousness of this issue. Halt wouldn't be around to sort this out, he had a load of problems already stacked upon him and he needed to know Will would know what to do.

"He won't go near her, I'll make sure he doesn't." Will growled. He pictured her blood oozing out and shuddered as a reflex.

"There's something else Will." Halt was still looking at his apprentice but this time with an odd look on his face. Will noticed.

"What?" He asked.

"You need to talk to Horace." He saw Will frown. "He fancies Evanlyn Will or haven't you noticed?" Halt blurted awkwardly. He wasn't the type of man that found these controversial topics hugely embarrassing but he felt his apprentice had a right to know.

"What?" Will asked. He knew Horace liked Evanlyn they had got on well after all, but fancy was never a term he would have used to describe their relationship.

"It's so obvious. Seriously am I the only one who notices these things?" He asked more to himself.

"Well you probably would Halt, after all you don't have a wife of your own." Will jibed, though it was half hearted. He was still brooding over Halt's new piece of information on Slagor.

"Look Will, the both of you are best friends and I wouldn't want to see you hurt because of this. We have two days until we have to ride to our designated location. Try and talk to him before the war actually starts." Halt scrutinised Will's face and saw nothing but fire to get his revenge on Slagor. Halt sighed. Sometimes it was so hard to get teenage boys to listen to you. He knew Will had heard him though; he was too well trained as a Ranger not to have done.

"Will?" He asked softly. He saw him snap out of schemes for revenge.

"Yes Halt?"

"Think about what I said."

"Sure thing don't worry." But Halt could tell Will's thoughts were miles away. He nodded at his apprentice gruffly and turned on his heel to prepare for the upcoming war.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

The gruesome collection of men thundering across the patchy snow covered countryside certainly was a sight to behold as the army made their journey to the assigned location so they could have a strategic advantage over the Temujai's and Skandia had a small glittering chance of winning the tedious life killing war. Along side the basic troops the four foreigners had taken their place a little behind them as all but Horace had soon realised that being amidst them made them more susceptible to being unintentionally trampled on.

"I wish they would be a little quieter, what if the Temujai's see us and decide to unexpectedly attack?" Will asked his mentor, self doubt creeping into his voice as he saw the mercenaries slap each other heartily on the back while offering never ending bottles of morbid tasting alcohol. Halt looked at his young apprentice then answered.

"I don't think it really makes a difference; even if they did see us they wouldn't be able to do anything about it since they're hardly likely to attack in unknown territory without three to one odds, they're smarter than your average troop." Halt saw Will nod his head in understanding, then fall silent. He took this moment to address the issue that had been bothering him since he last saw him. "Will, you've changed." He looked deep into his dark brown eyes and saw those eyes look up from the ground in which he had been watching. His apprentice sighed for the time being. Though it wasn't a sigh Halt had heard before especially not from Will. "Tell me what happened in Skandia. Please." Halt rarely used words that made him sound desperate but now he was. After he had arrived to the site of his crying son and the Temujai guards gathered around the princess, both Araluans had remained silent even though they had been asked questions about their sentence several times. Their silence was subdued as if there were too many horrific accounts to relive if they told their tale. As if there were too many healing scars to reopen. Horace soon after filled with joy from assuring both his friends were safe forgot the incident altogether though the young pair weren't so lucky for Halt didn't. Every day after, he sought for an opportunity to gather the both of them alone and heavily interrogate them though what with the preparations for war the time had vanished as quickly as he had surmised the thought. Now he was alone with his apprentice who was regarded as the son he never had, with time to kill he decided he might as well start now. Previously whenever he had analysed his and Cassandra's behaviour he knew they had been affected badly. Their mannerisms had changed like the transition from summer to winter. From warm and bubbly to cold and fearful. Their sense of self protection had decreased somewhat from the little he could gather. Especially Will's. All he had been informed of by Erak was that Will had been appointed to be one of the yard slaves, though the grave definition of those words he had yet to understand. Will's face grew hazardously old as Halt was picking along the fine thread that had taken Will so long to sow. The thread that sealed all his wounds and kept him capable of continuing from one day to the next. Undoubtedly there were ghastly moments when the sight of the yard slaves working grindingly day in day out in the ever decreasing temperatures had grated on the young student and the constriction of his windpipes had barely made it accessible for him to breathe. Whether the pain was psychological or physical he could never tell. He had an inkling it was both.

"Halt please." Will choked. He was already panic stricken at the upcoming war; his mentor wasn't helping by directing him to the dark unforgiving territory of his time in slavery.

"I'm sorry Will but I have a right to know." Halt knew he was on unstable ground here and the slightest of mishandling could send him deep into the abyss of forever unknowing. He had to handle this matter cautiously and therefore approached the issue with a demeanour very unlike his outward persona. Gentleness. Repeatedly he had seen the young man struggle to deal with his predicament and knew he was a dam. A dam waiting to burst.

"I know you do Halt, but some things are better left unsaid." Will replied unsuccessfully attempting to persuade Halt into dropping the matter, though he didn't know that this was exactly what drove his mentor to wanting to find out more.

"True" his teacher acknowledged "though some things are better let out." He answered. Will looked behind him to see his two friends gently chattering, bickering over nonsense that was unimportant. He turned his head back round and gathered his thoughts wishing he was brave enough to face the truth. He knew he wasn't ready to face it. Though he also knew that if he prolonged this moment any more he would never be able to face it. And that was a dangerous path to turn to.

"What have you been told so far?" Will could feel the sensation of the fine silk coming out of his wound as he asked the question as if it had been a literal bandage.

"All I've been told was that you were sent to be a yard slave." His mentor concluded. He knew patience was the key to unravelling the truth though every fibre in his being wished Will would hurry up and help him understand the pain he was going through. Will took a huge gulp of air and huffed it out noisily as his palms began sweating and his heart beat accelerated.

"I don't remember what happened to me." He said. Halt frowned in anger.

"What do you mean you don't remember?" He enunciated each word carefully restraining his annoyance at the disappointing answer. Months of waiting and this is what Will had to show for it. He felt the disappointment swelling up inside him.

"I don't remember." Will said. He didn't know how to make those words any clearer. "Look ask Evanlyn she knows." He said directing the spotlight to his former companion.

"But I want to know from you." Halt said still confused.

"Evanlyn come here for a minute please, sorry Horace." Will called out as he verbally dragged her away from her delightful discussion with the muscled apprentice.

"Yes why did you call me?" She asked, her face still red from laughing with Horace. Will felt a flash of jealousy run through him as he regarded her, though he kept his emotions well under control.

"Halt wants to know what happened to me during slavery." As soon as those words were mentioned her face changed from her natural glowing skin to a paler corpse like being. She looked at Will as if seeking permission and he gently nodded to her knowing he would regret doing so soon after she opened her mouth. Halt intrigued by this turn of events leaned in closer to make sure he heard every word she said. Her mouth opened, and with that a tale of absolute sadness came with it.

* * *

**I am truly sorry for the extreme delays in updating this story but things came up and life got in the way. Here is another chapter from me, this one is relatively shorter than my others as I believe a good variety of chapter lengths never did anyone any harm. Hopefully you'll like it and let your opinions be known by reviewing and thanks once again for providing me with useful constructive criticism I would also like to personally thank TaylorLoe for reviewing on every chapter which was really appreciated. Thanks again to everyone else who has taken the time to read this as well and don't forget to review. **


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Halt listened carefully to the details Evanlyn was providing, her face twisted to an expression of pain, her eyes locked into the past. Somewhere as their unforgettable journey was unfolded Halt found an unfamiliar sensation prickling his bearded face. Tears. The wind and thank the Skandian gods for it was heading for their direction allowing him the time needed to swiftly wipe away what tears hadn't been absorbed into his scraggly beard. He turned back to face the two again interpreting their reactions. Evanlyn was still frozen in time and had almost stopped walking altogether as if that much was too hard for her to do all of a sudden, Will had his head low, bent down partially avoiding the wind that was threatening to send him flying back in his fragile state, though mostly avoiding any sort of contact from his mentor. His guide. Will felt the shame increasing as she retold his weaknesses, pointed out his flaws. How could a mentor want a broken apprentice? Because he wasn't the same and he knew he never would be. Maybe when the time comes the shuddering in his sleep will cease and the depression may end but he was still broken. Like a broken mirror. No matter how ingeniously the cracked pieces are stuck together the cracks will always be visible for the rest of his life. Of course an easy solution to that dilemma is to buy another mirror straight after the first one cracked. But he didn't like that thought either. He didn't want to change. The only reason he hadn't completely crumpled yet was because Evanlyn's small, warm hand would slide perfectly into his own, holding him together. She had the power inside her to overcome her problems no matter what they be which was why despite her feeling inadequate, she would someday make a great queen. Will realised he didn't want this young girl beside him he needed her. He depended on her to cheer and comfort him. A woman's touch can be crucial to saving a man's life, and no one knew the meaning of that better than Will. In one quick glance he looked up from the ground to find Halt's eyes searching his face. Coal black and infinitely deep they may have been menacing to anyone else but Will, he could tell his mentor was only searching for his reaction to see if he was going to break down. Emotionally fragile that's what he must have thought of him. Will felt sickened at the very thought of any sympathy he might receive. This was the sole purpose for not telling his father like figure what he had been through, he was trying to get rid of his past. Leave it behind. And he knew that it wouldn't happen if he saw sympathy through people's eyes, it would only relight the flame of torture he had put up with.

Halt was facing a dilemma of his own. He could sense Will's uneasiness to discuss the topic yet it had to be done, he had to assure the young apprentice that what he thought was his own weakness was in fact the exact reason as well as many other original qualities as to why he would make such a great Ranger. Evanlyn's eyes blinked momentarily then snapped back to reality instantly seeking the comfort of Will's hand. She slowly uncurled the clenched fists by his sides and warmed her hand by the heat from his. He looked down to her, one advantage he may have had could have been that Will was a late bloomer and he was confident that if any time he were to have his growing spurt it would have been at this time, though malnourished as he was during his time in slavery any hope of gaining some height had been lost and he had battled with hunger almost every day. Hunger almost always won. Even so, he had still unknowingly grown a little, enough to have to look down at Halt and Evanlyn at any rate, though Horace was out of the question entirely. The muscled apprentice seemed to have a never ending growth rate something that Will had always envied. Since becoming a ranger's apprentice he had learnt the worth of being small and agile. He smiled at the young would be queen and squeezed her hand tightly, afraid of letting go. They both knew the enormity of this war and whether or not each of them would make it back alive again was a question to be examined. Since their previous encounter in the chestnut tree, now Evanlyn's favourite location, the Araluans had gotten no time to spend with each other and if this was the last time they were to hold hands, they were going to hold it as tightly as possible. Will smiled gently at the fact that life was never appreciated enough until death was at your door. Of course death had been at his door several times in his young life but Evanlyn was a newcomer to the whole experience and it wasn't the first time he wished he could keep her safe in a tiny glass bottle while he and Horace took the brunt of the fighting. He knew though that this was not her way and he also knew this was why he loved her so much.

"Will I'm glad I was told." Halt looked up at his son. Will locked eyes with Halt and he continued. "And don't you ever, _ever_ think that you are weak because when the time comes I know we will need someone who has been through as much as you have." There was a strange intensity to his voice that stopped Will from looking away. You could tell he meant every word.

"Thanks Halt." Will mumbled. He knew his inarticulate reply was enough for the time being and he walked on with his companions devoid of any guilt, knowing that he was safe and secure with them beside him. But not for long. The small group enjoyed the rest of the hike in each others company. Horace sensing the trio's private moment was over had immediately drifted towards them and they were all chatting animatedly now about many topics that could be described as irrelevant, but to the three youngsters they were glad they did talk to one another and get to spend more time in each others presence. It helped them forget about the war ahead.

"Ranger we're here." A burly Skandian made way for Halt to inspect the area to double check the location was right. Halt nodded roughly and told the Skandians to disperse into their arranged places. The Temujai's would be taken by surprise when they went into their famous killing position with their bow and arrows aimed at the Skandian hearts and hidden in the trees ahead, plotting to kill the mercenaries ruthlessly that is until the Skandians who were hiding in bushes behind them appear out and attack. Making the Temujai's lose their ultimate advantage.

"Will come here." Halt whisked his apprentice away from Horace who was already easing up his muscles for the fight ahead.

"Yes Halt?" Will asked.

"Make sure you stay in this particular area. The woods here will provide invisibility to anyone you shoot at and great protection as the Skandians will be near you." Halt told him. A good strategic location was essential for Will to carry out his plan, as the main advantage he can use against them is surprise. The element would have gone straight away if the archers were visible.

"Yes you're right this is a good place to shoot." Will was muttering to himself as Halt had left to rearrange the defensive positions in the Skandian battle line. Will knew that success to any important war was good conscious preparation which he did now. He went forward to meet his fellow archers and showed them precisely where to remain. He also showed Horace who nodded in agreement at Halt's idea. To the corner of his eye he made out the tiny shape of Evanlyn sitting slumped on top of a rock watching disinterestedly as the men surrounding her adjusted their weapons to be ready for an assault. He silently crept up behind her and covered her eyes to liven her moods a little. Her first reaction was to scream at her sight sense being unexpectedly cut off, then she recognised the feel of those hands after having spent time holding them and knew the stranger was no one other than Will.

"Will you almost scared the living daylights out of me." She complained. He removed his hands and came to face her so she could see him.

"You actually knew it was me?" He asked incredulously.

"Give me a break I know what your hands feel like and besides they were sweating." She said to his chagrin. He knew he could feel the sweat beads rolling off his skin as the day dragged by but he didn't know it was this bad. Evanlyn seeing his embarrassment added, "Don't worry everyone's hands are sweating Will we're all really nervous." Reassured by her comment he held out his hand and she took it immediately as he led her away while saying in one long breath.

"I've dug the ditch out for you, it's not too deep so you'll be able to climb out quickly if anyone attacks but not too high so if there are any arrows they'll definitely go over your head, I've left you with one knife because of course you can't be totally defenceless otherwise you would have no means of protecting yourself and then you would die and also I've placed you near our secret location where our archers are based so you can see when all the archers are ready and don't forget-" Evanlyn interrupted his monologue of safety features for her by giving him a deep, long kiss, because, she didn't like it when he was fretting so much over her it was him he needed to worry about, and she wanted something to remember him by when in the war and the texture of his lips seemed good enough for her. It worked. He was momentarily surprised and looked at her in wonder, contemplating her motives. He shook his head still and asked. "What was that for?"

"Mainly to get you to shut up." She grinned at him then continued. "Besides I'll be fine in my makeshift ditch, it's you I worry about." She put her hands around his neck folding down his uneven uniform collar the way every wife did for husband. As she was about to take her hands away he caught them and brought them to his face kissing her palms. She wondered where he had learnt to do that, she knew he was an orphan and having no parents to guide him he was doing considerably well in the romance section.

"Please don't worry about me." Then he grinned his cheeky slash mischievous grin he used when he came up with an idea, "besides I have Horace don't I? You'll be hard pressed to find any warrior who would have the guts to take him on." He smiled at her then gently tugged on her to keep them walking towards her ditch. As soon as she was carefully settled with a vantage point that could mean she was useful, she smiled at him in a gesture to tell him she was fine and for him to get going. He smiled in return and bent down to kiss her one last time before he was plunged into a sea of bloodbath.

While Horace had been advising his men on where to stay and how quickly to bring up their shields he looked over to see Will and Evanlyn chatting quietly amongst themselves and though he was tempted to join them he sensed a strange intensity in their friendship that he didn't want to intrude on. Then it became clear. Evanlyn had leaned forward willingly and kissed his best friend. A shaft of disappointment swept through him as he saw the girl he had come to admire so much had not fallen for him the same way as he did for her. As for Will, he felt betrayed that his best friend would go behind his back to do something like this. Of course Will hadn't actually went behind his back as Horace had never declared his feelings though in the vulnerable state he was already in he ignored any voice of reason against his rising anger. Then immediately he mentally scolded himself for being so heartless when he knew he should have been supportive. After all he shouldn't have been surprised that they both fell for each other given what they went through, though sometimes Horace did wish _he_ was the one that had joined her in Skandia, that _he _was the one that protected her. He brushed off the unimportant thoughts away as Will had moved over to join him. Will gasped in horror and turning around Horace did too. Thousands of them. Thousands of the Temujai's. They were doomed.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Deep rhythmic beats vibrated through the ground, the Skandian warriors based at the front lines peered over their shoulders puzzled at the unexpected sound of bass like beats humming in the air. A new sensation prickled into the battle hardened warriors as they peered into the distance, tightening their grips on their weapons. Fear. The only one unsurprised by the sudden ripple of sound was Halt, who accustomed to the traditions of the assassin like army, hurried his way through the piling masses of Skandian men poised in a fighting stance. To his disapproval, Ragnak the Skandian Oberjarl was found to be right at the centre of his army swinging his axe alarmingly quickly, though knowing the extent of the northern sea raiders pride, he didn't let his trivial opinions be known. Halt would have preferred if the Oberjarl was somewhere safer, though safer was a relative term in this case, where he could be managing and organising the heaps of bloodthirsty corsairs. Light on his feet, Halt swayed smoothly to one side dodging the deadly weapon in Ragnak's hands and stood face to face with the general.

"Shouldn't you be somewhere where you can manage the men?" He asked. Halt grimaced inwardly. Of course he would have to direct the troops, he should have seen it coming.

"Yes I'll be there in a moment just wanted to let you know that the ratio of Temujai's to Skandians is around four to one."

"Well I'll be damned are there any other pieces of hidden information you want to tell me?" Ragnak had a calm outward appearance which gained Halt's approval immediately.

"No just a precaution for you and make sure you don't stay in the brunt of the fighting" The look on Ragnak's face forced Halt to add "too much." At the end.

Around a couple of yards behind them a small force of archers stood nervously, some kicking dusts of granulated mud into the air. They all had a look of fright mixed with weariness on their faces. As if they wanted to get this fight over and done with but were afraid to do so. Will couldn't blame them. He was feeling the same way though as their leader he knew acting calmly was essential, so as to gain their trust and be a good role model.

"Don't put your bows in tension yet, we've got to wait for the right time. In fact it would be better if you put your bows down altogether." Will said. The rest of the force looked at him as if he may have lost his senses. Then to promote his idea he put down his bow and arrow and raised his hands as if surrendering, but the rest of the team took his actions as a signal and calmer than before they too set their weapons aside and looked out through the clumps of bushes to get a good look at their adversary. Releasing a pent up breath he didn't know he took, Will made his way towards Horace who had been unusually quiet for the past half hour. He saw his bigger friend checking his equipment for the sixth time and running his hand over his shield to ensure it was still oiled from when he checked four minutes prior.

"You ready for the battle?" Will's voice startled the muscled apprentice who dropped his shield in surprise. His friend appeared to rise out of the ground as he spoke reminding Horace temporarily of a ghost. A groan escaped his lips as he saw his newly polished shield covered in wet mud and an accusatory glance at Will made Will known as to whose fault it was this happened. "Sorry, I didn't realise you were busy but I bet you will be now." A placatory gesture was given from Will as Horace bent down to retrieve his shield.

"You should have made some noise so that I knew you were coming, then I wouldn't have dropped my shield." Horace snapped. To Will it looked as though his friend was beginning to get crankier, though the reason behind it was unapparent to him so far. Perhaps he didn't get a good sleep last night he thought to himself. Then Horace cocked his head to the left as if contemplating over something.

"What do you mean I'll be busy now." He asked. Will shrugged and pointed to the bushes covering the battle ground.

"Take a look for yourself." He gestured. Horace, curious began to make his way and lifted a branch covering the view. The highly polished sword held in his right hand slipped from his fingers though he caught it just in time before he could get that stuck in mud as well. Thousands of men travelled in unison everything they wore black, every movement they made was sharp and precise, even seeing them walking Horace could tell they were fierce indeed. Some were on horse back though the majority were marching. There was something unusual about the way they conducted themselves Horace thought, it was their approach to battle. This group was unlike any other Horace had ever seen or had been taught about. They were silent. It wasn't that the area was silent, it was as if silence was being emitted from them, and this silence was deadlier than any Horace had ever heard before. The atmosphere tingled as the rest of the Skandians took their position to fight the oncoming army. Repressing a shiver Horace ran back to the trees where the archers were trembling.

"How are you so calm?" He blurted out of nowhere to Will, who was calming the men down.

"Who told you I was calm, I'm frightened out of my wits." Will said. This time Horace detected a faint quiver in his voice and he felt a rush of sympathy for the boy beside him.

"We need to get ready in position." Horace called out to the other shield bearers scattered across the ground. They nodded in agreement and joined the young boy into battle.

* * *

It had been several hours later and the casualties were rising up. They didn't have enough time, equipment or skill needed to overcome the number of injured men and those who weren't injured were drained from the long hours of fighting. Halt's plan of ambushing the Temujai's was a good one since the enemy's clearly weren't planning on a response such as this. They were forced to do hand to hand combat which the Skandians excelled at much more than them and soon masses of dead men were piled in a corner, their blood sinking in to the mud of the vast battle location. Where the Temujai lacked in skill, their numbers came in handy, wave upon wave of horrifying soldiers replacing the ones that were lost.

Things were faring good on the archers side of the battle, even though many received minor injuries only three were dead and fifteen too badly hurt to continue. The General of course had ordered the small force of archers to be killed immediately after their surprise attack, though unfortunately any Khaijjin that made any attempt at firing were killed or heavily injured by what they could make out as a blur of green and grey and a shock of brown hair.

* * *

While there had been a ceasefire the Skandians had used this opportunity to tend to the injured and inspect the weaponries. The archers had been left to themselves and they now wandered around close to each other. Which left Horace and Will once more in each others company. Will had hoped that his friends attitude towards him would have changed once faced with the task of dealing with the southern warriors, but no such luck. While the both of them were still amicable towards each other there was still a slight undercurrent of tension that both of them felt the presence of. Will who was already exhausted from the hours of battle found no solace in bantering with his bigger friend, and sensing that something was troubling Horace Will blurted out.

"Alright what's the problem?" Horace who had sat down on a particularly wet piece of grass fidgeted at his friends question. A wooden half bent stick was clenched in his hand, poking at the hard mound of earth beneath him. His hand held the stick in an even tighter clasp. He knew if he held it any tighter he would soon get splinters covering his hands.

"Nothing. What makes you think there's a problem?" Horace attempted a nonchalant approach to the question. He was surprised to find it actually worked and his voice, even to his own ears had sounded calm. Almost bored in fact.

"Horace I'm your best friend don't you think I would know if something was troubling you." Will sat down beside him and was shocked and angry when Horace abruptly stood up and sat farther away from him. Something was definitely wrong he thought. He racked his brains trying to remember when Horace had last been seen cheerful and what event could have changed that. Then it came to him. Halts words appeared out of a fragment of his mind echoing in his ears. _He fancies Evanlyn Will or hadn't you noticed_. Then to confirm Will's new revelation he saw Horace chance a sneak peek at Evanlyn who had just climbed out of the ditch.

"You like her don't you?" Will's voice was soft, gentle. Instead of feeling anger or jealousy he felt pity for his friend as he knew how hard it must have been on him.

"I saw you two kissing." Horace's tone indicated nothing. No anger or fury or jealousy. Devoid of emotion. Somehow that managed to make things ten times harder.

"I'm sorry Horace if I knew you liked her then maybe things would have been different."

"Different? How? She still would have fallen for you." His tone was thick with misery and Will, unsure of how to react settled for a pat on the back. This time Horace didn't flinch or move away. Unfair though it was to the poor boy sitting next to him, Will knew what Horace said was true. Even if Horace and Will both had a fair chance with her they both knew inside she would have chosen him. Will had nothing to say. Some things couldn't be said. Some things had to be dealt with alone and deep down he knew he had to let Horace figure his heart ache alone.

A resonating hollow sound came from the Temujai's horn depicting their break over. The grouped masses of warriors quickly went into their devised formation though much unlike they suspected, instead of the horn stopping it continued and changed in pitch. A lower sound was droning on and puzzled glances were formed on the faces of the Northern sea raiders. What was going on? Even Halt had seemed to be confused, a small frown appearing on his usually non descript face. The precision of black that was the Temujai army had parted down the middle, making it clearer for others to see the commotion. A massive ship anchored rather roughly to the shore and without warning a thousand warriors were jumping off it. Landing lithely on their feet. Eyes widened in horror as the warriors assembled back again into their formation. Now even more deadly with the extra thousand soldiers on their side. Only a Skandian knew how to moor a battle ship like that which meant they had a traitor in their midst. Erak darting his eyes furiously through the Temujai line found who he was looking for. Slagor. A blood curdling cry came from him as Erak charged empty handed to his rival. Betrayal in any country was punishable by death. And it seemed Slagor had made the worst betrayal possible. And just at the right time. Grinning broadly he sauntered across the battle field as if he was in the comfort of his own home and laughed as five burly Skandians had to restrain their senior Jarl from committing a foolish attempt at murder.

His hands trembled. His body trembled. His whole being trembled at the sight of Slagor smacking his lips with pleasure. He trembled in fury. A red haze fell across his eyes and it took him valuable minutes before he could calm down. Horace exclaimed a shout of surprise.

"What's going on?" Evanlyn asked as she saw the archers skittering nervously. She saw Will turn slowly around, his eyes closed, his hands shaking. He was restraining himself from something, and that's when she knew that whatever was going on it was bad. Really bad.

"Slagor" The word was spat from his mouth with such venom it contrasted to his usual flamboyancy. Had it not been for the ledge she was holding onto Evanlyn was pretty sure she would have fallen to the ground in shock. After everything, everything they had to go through this had to happen again. Yet she had not heard the worst. There was more to come and she knew it. Horace turned to her and explained. She would have preferred if Will did as he knew her better but he was still livid with anger and had paled considerably.

"He betrayed his country. A thousand probably more reinforcements have arrived for the Temujai's. They already had a four to one ratio, now the fight will be impossible." Horace quivered in fear. His death would be coming, life was trickling away from him the way water does from a hand. Suddenly everything he was angry about, everything he resented vanished. In its place came love and friendship. If he only had so long to live he wanted to be happy. As happy as he could be in the given time.

Slagor stepped forward and grabbed a cone like instrument from one of the standing men. He spoke through it and found his voice louder and more powerful than before. Magnified across the battle field his voice gave him the confidence he needed to continue. It had been discussed with General Hazkam and he knew what deal he was about to make.

"GENTLEMEN, PLEASE CALM DOWN I THOUGHT YOU WOULD BE PLEASED TO SEE ME HERE." He waved his arm at the battle field and several cries for murder were torn from the remaining Skandians. He laughed again. He forgot how much fun it was to feel power surging through him.

"AS THE LESS DIMWITTED OF YOU CAN SEE I HAVE BROUGHT THE TEMUJAI AN EXTRA THOUSAND MEN TO MAKE SURE WE DEFINITELY LOSE THIS BATTLE." The Skandians roared ever more at the treachery.

"BUT" The word was left hanging for suspense. The men stopped hurling abuse at the pirate and listened. Hoping there was an alternative to the mass destruction that was about to break out. "I HAVE SPOKEN TO THE TEMUJAI GENERAL AND WE HAVE BOTH AGREED THAT THERE IS A WAY TO STOP THIS FIGHTING. A WAY TO MAKE THE SUFFERING END." The words carried on to the pitch and echoed through the air.

"WHAT THE TEMUJAI WANT MORE THAN ANYTHING IS TO ULTIMATELY TAKE OVER ARALUAN. SO MY PROPOSAL TO YOU FELLOW PIRATES IS…" Everyone leaned in closer to hear his deal.

"GIVE US THE APPRENTICE RANGER AND WE WILL STOP THIS BATTLE."

"GIVE US WILL. AND YOUR PAIN ENDS."


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

The howl of the ever present winds intensified as pin drop silence replaced blood thirsty cries. Everyone was in a state of shock. Their predicament remained that although the young Araluan had come here as a slave he had quickly turned into a figure of respect, for physical strength and ingenuity, and losing a person who had helped them momentarily win the war was painful, though the prospect of no fighting bore foremost in the minds of those who had been taken in to the makeshift infirmary. The only solution it seemed was to hand over Will, which each of the Skandians were wary of doing.

If Will's face could have gotten any paler it would have. Now filled with sickness from the long suspense and from the option Slagor had stated there was a slight twinge of green to his face, which could have been interpreted as a cue that he was going to puke. Horace had also paled and his mouth was open in a perfect circular shape as he looked to his best friend who he had just gotten back, and to have him painfully snatched away from him again, from Halt, it wasn't fair. It wasn't right. He now felt stupid for ever disliking Will. Their disagreement and Horace's resentment towards him faded away in the light of this new danger. He needed to be his friend again. His loyal trustworthy friend and he had to diminish any thoughts of his present girlfriend from his mind. Evanlyn it had seemed literally had fallen down. Her legs crumpled as the booming voice radiated from the centre of the field and the meaning of his words sunk deep into her flesh, piercing her heart with a dozen knives. Her eyes watered as she remembered all their times together, all the times they had comforted each other and laughed together and so much more. She wanted every trace of his being imprinted in her mind, so she could never forget the way his eyes lit up when he saw her, or the way his hair always remained tangled. They couldn't take Will away from her, not again. Because she was sure that this time if they did, he was not coming back.

Surprisingly, the only one who recovered from the dramatic proposal was Erak. He had come to admire the young boy and had no intention what so ever of handing him over, though the Skandian Oberjarl may think otherwise. It was commonly known that Ragnak didn't care about any of his slaves and since he hadn't had any dealings with Will personally, he was more inclined to giving him away Erak knew. He had to do something before Ragnak could gain his wits and immediately agree to the deal. Halt, he saw hissed furiously at the suggestion and scanned wildly into the country side to find Will. Erak empathised with him. It must have been galling to find his apprentice, his son, then to immediately be separated from him. Gathering his resolve and preparing his words carefully the senior Jarl stepped forwards and spoke.

"What is the meaning of this Slagor?" There was a sense of power that radiated from him. He spoke without increasing the volume of his voice and yet his words which had been delivered with a growl rang out clearer than Slagor's blustering self could ever have done. The pitch remained silent and perhaps it was this that made the Skirl sneer. Slagor had always been jealous at how easily Erak could attract others attention and gain power, now that he had one moment to shine his adversary had to put an end to that as well. The skirl stepped forwards with the horn still clutched to his hands, unlike Erak he couldn't magnify his voice as well without it, and he answered with a sneer still stuck to his unpleasant face.

"WELL IT SHOULD BE OBVIOUS BY NOW SHOULDN'T IT?" When everyone had still remained frozen with incomprehension Slagor continued.

"RANGERS ARE WELL KNOWN FOR THEIR KNOWLEDGE OF THEIR KINGDOM, SO IF THIS ARMY WERE TO WANT TO TAKE OVER ARALUAN THEY WOULD NEED HELP, LIKE THE GEOGRAPHY OF THE LAND AND ALL THAT." The talk had become increasingly boring to the Skirl who yawned whenever strategies or geography was the topic of a conversation. He was simpler and tended to rush out and knock others unconscious with a wooden bat or a weapon. He decided to steer the conversation back to knowledge he knew most of.

"OF COURSE WE COULD HAVE CHOSEN TO TAKE THE FULLY FLEDGED RANGER BUT I HAD A PERSONAL WORD WITH THE GENERAL AND IT ONLY SEEMED RIGHT TO GET HIM BACK FOR THE THINGS HE DID TO ME." Others looked around in shock possibly wondering what the small boy could have done to have deserved this much loathing from the Skirl. Only Will, Evanlyn, Horace and Halt knew what had happened in Skhorjjill and at the ruins. Slagor's anger which at first was bent towards the serving girl had changed course once he realised he was outwitted by the same seventeen year old boy _again._

"AND OF COURSE IF WILL STILL DOESN'T KNOW AS MUCH AS THE FULLY FLEDGED RANGER WE CAN STILL TAKE WILL ANYWAYS AND TORTURE HIM INFRONT OF HIS MENTOR SO HALT CAN TELL US EVERYTHING HE KNOWS." There was a collective gasp and Halt had stumbled back, ice covering his heart. He couldn't bear this. Not Will being taken from him again. It was cruel game the fates had played on them and all he wanted was Will out of harms way. They could take him and do what ever they wanted to with him but not Will. He was too innocent. Too pure to witness or be a victim of anything as cruel as this. No one had the power or determination this time to defy Slagor. People were at a loss of how to deal with the situation. They could continue fighting but with the extra men on the opposite army they had no hope at all of winning and further casualties would result in this. Though handing over a seventeen year old innocent was no easy task either. Daunting consequences lay after each prospect.

* * *

Finally Will had managed to regain control over his legs, which had turned to jelly, to stumble forwards drunkenly, still in shock. A cry was torn from Evanlyn's lips as she saw what he was doing but she was in no position to stop him. Horace was too numb to have noticed Will's action and others surrounding Will had conflict written on their faces and instead had decided to do nothing as he walked past them. Only Halt was certain that he was never letting his apprentice fall loose from his grasp again. As Will staggered forwards he felt a rough hand on his collar dragging him back as he met face to face with his furious mentor.

"Where do you think you are going?" He snapped. Despite being a couple of inches taller than him, Will felt himself shrinking upon the looming face of his angry father figure.

"To-to go to Slagor." His voice grew in confidence as he continued. "Look I know you're worried about me but with their reinforcements if I don't go many lives will be lost and we will undoubtedly lose this battle. If I go all they're gonna do is hurt one person. Me. Which is a lot better than having hundreds hurt." Hearing this, Halt felt a rush of affection and pride for the boy before him. It couldn't have been easy saying that and he admired the boys use of logic when he should have been in a traumatic state. Though in spite of this Halt still remained adamant on his decision and shook his head softly at Will's words.

"You're wrong Will. They're not just hurting one person if you go. If you go it will hurt me too." Glistening tears run down Halt's face and he was unashamed of them. He didn't care what people thought of him or whether he looked deadly or not, all he knew was that he wanted his son home. But deep down a part of him knew that Will was doing the right thing. He had to let him go. He could try bargaining and pleading to take him away instead but the sickening look of glee on Slagor's face and the triumphant eyes of his Temujai enemy made it clear he only had one choice. Those surrounding the boy gave him fierce hugs and marvelled at his bravery though Halt's hug was the longest. There too were tear stains on Will's cheeks as he saw how many people cared for him. He turned at last to face Horace and Evanlyn both of whom it was obvious, were also in tears. Though Horace's was less distinguishable and Evanlyn's eyes were red and puffy. Will stood awkwardly when he faced his best friend. He didn't know whether to say anything or just move on, but that changed as Horace choked and then crushed him in a bear shaped hug.

"Look after yourself." He croaked. It was all he could manage without breaking into more tears.

"I'll try." Will gave a half hearted smile which already showed he had given up on any prospect of survival. He then turned to meet last but never least. Evanlyn. She flung herself at him with a hug so tight and emotionally painful it was worse than any bone crushing hug he could have had. It crushed him inside seeing her like this but it was the only way she could survive. He would take it if it meant she was safe. She let go reluctantly her body only inches away from his and kissed him with such love and desire that those around, even Horace and Halt, had to look away. Their young love burnt fiercely in their eyes and when they parted Evanlyn slumped to the ground still crying, the energy of standing up too much for her. Will turned around to face his enemy and concentrated with all his might to putting one foot in front of the other, knowing that those steps could well be his last. He never looked back.

* * *

**Hello people very sorry indeed for the late chapters but my laptop sort of went haywire and internet wasn't working. Any ways I'm not sure where to take this. Should I do a 5 years later so on and so happens in the next chapter where everyone has moved on and Will dies or should I do one continuing exactly what happens after he goes to them. I don't know so you guys please decide. Let me know what you think in the review thing.**

**Here are the choices:**

**a) 5 years later Evanlyn and Horace get together after Will dies going to Slagor and Evanlyn never forgets him but learns to love Horace**

**b) 5 years later and Will and Evanlyn are happy together and everything sorts out **

**c) Just continue on, abandon the 5 years later thing and make Horace and Evanlyn sort of have a fling while Will is captured but Evanlyn feels really guilty about it later on. **

**I have no idea. These thoughts have been taxing my mind for quite a while now. Please let me know what you think. A,B,C or maybe another totally different idea.**


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

"_Alyss, what are you doing?" Will stood pouting in a corner as his graceful companion had rushed to her chambers. They were supposed to be playing in the shallow lake by the fresh green hills surrounding Redmont castle. On summer days where the sun made a point of consistently shining, bathing everything in a glow of warmth, him and Alyss had repeatedly ventured to the small lake close to the Tarbus river and its outlying cottages yet not so close as for anyone to stumble upon their secret hiding place. _

_Months ago, both rejected by those in the society, the two children had decided they had had enough of mingling with others close to their age. Children and adults alike seemed wary of them, nervously tossing bread at their feet should they enter near their homes, Will and Alyss both sick of this treatment had therefore decided to create a new place. A place where they were not judged or criticised, somewhere that the two of them could spend their lonely hours together, playing and talking then playing some more. _

_Will with his uncanny ability of gifted eyesight spotted the perfect area that shielded from others views by thick clumps of blueberry bushes opening up to a well lit meadow full of wildlife and beauty. Alyss with her wits and imagination brought and invented new and original things they could do and play. They played under water hide and seek, for as long as they could keep breath, knights and mermaids, a fantasy tale of a widow knight falling for a cursed mermaid who was bound to imprisonment, sentries and thieves (one of Will's favourites) he knew Alyss had not as much preference for this yet she tolerated playing it, an action packed game where a thief is caught in the process of stealing goods and the sentry must find a way to capture them. An assortment of edible arrangements were always laid out after, courtesy of Will's talented climbing and stealing abilities, so once tired the both of them could munch on Master Chubbs freshly baked raspberry muffins and dip their toes into the cool refreshing water once or twice spotting small fish just under the surface. _

_They had planned another visit to the secret that had sustained them through their childhood years, no one knew of this place and to avoid suspicion, both would always randomly choose a date of when to play so as not to receive attention from the caring house maids. They had just been about to set off when Alyss with a yelp told Will to stay where he was as she rushed up the smooth stone steps to her dormitory. He clucked his teeth with seething impatience as one…two…three minutes painfully passed. _

_She slid down the steps tossing her bright blonde hair then jabbing him in the ribs and yelling "Come on then" ran off to their location. Will angry with her at first warmed up as they sprinted across the countryside, running through the soft golden hay, fingers trailing over jagged fences until finally, finally they had reached their destination. Will loved running. Though short he may be he felt at one with the wind and the earth as he pushed his feet off the ground and caught up with his best friend in a matter of minutes. _

_A red tinge lighted both their faces as they stopped and went to a gentle walk._

"_What were you doing upstairs?" Will asked her. Alyss smiled, lighting up her face as she did so. She knew of Will's irrepressible curiosity and decided she would evade the subject until they could play freely in their secret world where she would tell him what she was doing. _

"_Oh nothing, a bit of this a bit of that." She kept her face neutral and to her delight saw him frown in anger and impatience. _

"_Oh come on, if you had nothing important to do surely you could have waited to do it after we played instead of spending hours doing hocus pocus." Will scoffed though was proud by the new bit of vocabulary he had brought into their casual banter. Alyss laughed, her voice echoing across the valley._

"_Hocus pocus? I see your vocabulary has improved as usual." Will grinned at that. Alyss had a different type of comedy to others, her forte was usually deadpan in which she could pull off surprisingly well for a girl of her age. "Tell me…" She pressed on then paused for effect while Will waited, looking at her. "Do you have the slightest idea as to what those words may even mean?" Her eyes twinkled in delight though she remained determined not to break into a smile. Will frowned in concentration knowing his brain had picked it up somewhere, though after several seconds claiming defeat he replied. _

"_Honestly I have no idea." His face too, moulded into a serious expression as though perhaps the two young children were talking about matters of great importance._

"_That's what I thought." Alyss shook her head intellectually. Though they both fell into fits of laughter afterwards. Stopping himself from chortling once more at the serious expression on his best friends face he said. _

"_O.K then what does it mean genius?" Will asked his curiosity mounting. Now that he had said the word but forgotten where he heard it from he was desperately wishing to know how he had come to know about it. Alyss tossed her hair again significantly as they clambered through the bushes to their usual hide out. _

"_Well it's what jongleurs and magicians say isn't it?" She said this as if it were the most simple thing in the world. Unfortunately Will didn't seem to understand and after giggling at his bewildered face she continued. "Well if you think about it all the magicians that have performed at Redmont castle always do tricks and before they do, they say 'Abracadrabra loomicadoomi hocus pocus' Surely you remember it?" Alyss saw a light of understanding dawn on Wills face before he burst into laughter. She frowned. "What's so funny?"_

"_Your face when you said those words you looked like a fifty year old witch." She smiled a rare smile that she only used with him. _

"_Well to be honest I do think it's a bit silly." She added, wanting to justify herself. Will trotted over and set down the woven wooden basket which had carried their food and drinks. Fortunately he had the sense to wrap everything inside with extra clothes since he knew he was to be running. After putting the basket down he knelt down on one knee to examine its contents which Alyss had prepared herself for some reason. He noticed most prominently from all the foods inside a huge cake sat with delicately hand made icing now ruined. He shrugged the matter away. He loved cake regardless to its appearance. He wondered though why Alyss would pack such a luxury food item… _

"_Hmmm" Will muttered under his breath. Alyss saw him inspecting the contents with fascination. She waited for him to continue which she knew he surely would. "Alyss why have you brought cake for our play session thing?" He asked not looking up. She smiled then nonchalantly said. _

"_Because it's your birthday" She strolled down to the lake to look as though she was doing something purposeful as Will's head snapped up. He did it so quickly he got a crick in his neck._

"_Birthday?" He asked in a perpetual state of shock._

"_Yes birthday." After seeing incomprehension still etched on his face she added. "Your birthday." As if guiding a two year old. _

"_But how do you know?" He asked with a slight tinge of sadness mixed in with shock still. _

"_Know what?" Deliberately not understanding him. _

"_How do you know whether it's my birthday or not I mean no one knows anything about me." His voice sounded miserable even to his own ears as he stared down at the cake again, then looked up to see Alyss smiling with such warmth all his doubts seemed to melt away. She walked across and sat down directly opposite Will, looked into his eyes and said._

"_I think you're the luckiest person ever." She smiled still and saw Will frown again. He had always thought of himself as a person who had an unfair life. His parents were stolen away from him by death before he could even find out his surname, stripping him of identity. How she thought this problem was an advantage baffled him. _

"_How?" He looked down at the plush green grass and awaited her answer. _

"_At least you get to choose your birthday so you can have it whenever you want every year. You can celebrate it whenever it's sunny whereas I have to celebrate it in December which is always the coldest month of the year." Her words took him by surprise. Right now he had never loved Alyss more than he did at that moment. He always considered his unknown birth date as a flaw, a reason for village boys to bully him, somehow she had managed to twist his problem to an advantage and make him sound lucky, cool. He looked away and stood up, walking to the river so as to hide the tears that were daring to fall. Wiping his eyes quickly he turned to see she had also stood up and clutched in her hands was a small wrapped package. His eyes were ready with a question his mouth couldn't form as he eyed the parcel. _

"_For you." She took two long steps and secured the present in his grasp before stepping back her eyes shining with excitement. "Go on. Open it." She nudged him. _

_Still flabbergasted at this unexpected surprise he hastily tore off the paper neatly covering his present and gasped in shock. It was a small wooden amulet, carved with an amazing degree of accuracy as it had taken the form of a single flame. Even though it was wooden the intricate lines in it made it look real and for a second he thought he saw a flicker of shimmering orange. He looked up at her this time unable to hide the tears falling freely down his face. She took it as a positive confirmation as he was unable to talk for many minutes. Still gazing at his gift. _

"_Go on look at the back." And he did. And he cried a bit more for on the back was a small carved message._

_Hope, Courage, Determination is what this represents. Which is exactly why it was made for you._

"_Happy seventh birthday Will." Alyss grinned. He looked up at her again and brought her into a massive hug, something which surprised the both of them since they rarely hugged each other. He stepped back and put the necklace over his head and tucked it under his clothes where he knew it would be safe._

* * *

Battered and bruised he was dragged mercilessly by a pair of unknown calloused hands that had clearly experienced the full force of battle. Many scars adorned them as the hands flung him across the room slamming him against the hard rock wall. They were in a mountain of sorts. No recollection of recent events had appeared to him so he was forced to conclude that he either must have been drugged or knocked out then sent to this location. The latter most probably he thought, wincing as the pain in his ribs flared through his body. He was unaware of the fact that he had been injured during his journey which made it an unpleasant surprise for when he awoke in a nasty smelling room filled with darkness. His eyes darted around the room looking for any clues to their location but as ever all the rooms he had been in looked the same. Dark, damp and in serious likelihood to collapse. One advantage he had though was his enemy. They were in a foreign country and were in no position to find any unlikely hostage areas which Will concluded meant they were going for speed not stealth. This also meant that wherever he was being held was probably in the closest mountains to the battle ground. Then it came to him. He remembered looking at the mountains with Halt who said the Temujai could climb up there and shoot arrows from their vantage point to attack the Skandians had they decided to remain at the inadequate stretch of land mainly used for resting purposes to hold off the army that were on their way. A rough voice snapped him out of his speculating.

"What name?" Towering before him was a heavily built soldier equipped with tools so deadly Will suppressed a shiver. As he did so a surge of annoyance took its place. The man in front of him was obviously unaware that he spoke the most appalling Araluan and after being kicked, punched and dragged over jagged rocks asking his name, which they already knew, was too much. Shuddering, he stood up painfully and faced the Temujai with a light of grim determination.

"Why don't you ask me something you don't know the answer to." He knew it was wrong. He knew it was stupid but after all they put him through just wanting to find out his name really ticked him off. Anger had flooded through replacing the pain and fear as he saw the man pause, looking at him with contempt yet there was something else there. In his eyes. A hint of admiration?

Next thing he knew he was savagely kicked in the chest and he flew back slamming again into the wall. A massive bruise was forming he could feel it. Pain beyond imagination yet he knew this was only the beginning. Will lay on his back too hurt to have the energy to groan. Dripping down his face was thick wet saliva where the man had then proceeded to spit on him. Faintly he heard the slam of a door. Metal presumably from the clank. But he needed to know more about his surroundings, where he was, what information they wanted to get out of him. Unconsciousness was calling to him though. Purring softly in his ear persuading him to let go of all his worries and fall straight into a deep sleep that would rid him temporarily of his pains. Not was he one of the best fighter though if he didn't have determination. Gritting his teeth he pushed himself into a sitting position, his muscles trembling in protest. A layer of sweat covered the spit on his face and he leaned back against the wall now able to see the events occurring outside his cell. As he rest his head back something fell on to the floor with a clutter. His eyes snapped open and he scanned the floor quickly until he found what it was. He frowned as he picked it up. A wooden amulet now lay in his hands as memories stirred deep inside him. He looked to the back and found sixteen words glaring back at him.

_Hope, Courage, Determination is what this represents. Which is exactly why it was made for you._

Something stirred in him. He knew he had all those qualities or else Alyss would not have given him the amulet. A small tear ran down his cheek as he thought of her and all his friends back home waiting for him. If only he had Alyss with him now, quick witted and calm as always, she would have been able to turn the situation to make it sound as if he were having the time of his life. He grimaced sadly while hot tears prickled his eyes again. He only had one choice now. He had to get out of here fast or die trying.

**Hey guys in case you're all wondering why I'm adding a memory of Will's it becomes important later on in the plot line or I'm not sure maybe not I just had a fun time writing it! This memory is mainly written to show Will and Alyss' relationship since they are best friends and nothing more. I think this is important since he is dating Cassandra after all. Do not forget the amulet because it is important! **


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

"We need to get him back and fast." Halt said. They were surrounding a huge mahogany table in the Oberjarl's meeting room, discussing tactics.

"I for one agree." Erak intervened, adding a glare to any fellow Skandians with the intent to contradict him.

"Well that was never the problem we all know we have to get him back, otherwise our _tactician _won't have a peaceful night's sleep." The Oberjarl stated sending a look at Halt's appearance.

Forgotten were the days of the green and grey mottled cloak, or the presentable form in which he kept himself in. The famous Halt had now been reduced to a desperate man, lonely and surly wanting to get his son back. Tattered clothes adorned him and his once cropped black hair lay shaggy and loose, bringing attention to the grey flecks in his hair. He knew he couldn't lose Will this time. Not again. There was no point in grooming himself now, since there was nothing to be done. When the time came and Halt knew he would come into action, only then would he sort out his tangled appearance. He sent a swift glare towards the Oberjarl and continued speaking.

"Most definitely the Temujai's are holding him hostage in one of the surrounding mountains." Halt said certainly.

"Yes but the question is which one? I mean we can't search each and every mountain that would take too long and by that time, they may have been informed of our arrival." Evanlyn added, a frown creasing on her face. That frown immediately turned into one of anger at the next statement directed at her.

"Shut it child! You have no right to be here, this is not your place you are a girl." One of the neighbouring Skandians snarled at her. Before Halt or any one of the more respectful males could intervene to scold him for his discourtesy the girl eyed him frostily and spoke quietly, but those in the room could sense the underlying tones of bitter harshness in her words.

"My place is with Will, I do not care whether the main party going to rescue him is full of males or not what I do know is I will travel with whoever goes to bring him back, so the sooner you accept that I am going and can be of some use to you, the better." She glared at any one else who dared to contradict her but no one did. Apart from that one Skandian the rest admired her bravery and if anything encouraged her to accompany them to rescue him.

Erak cleared his throat noisily. "Yes well I daresay we have to be able to distinguish which one they have Will in so…" It was a mark of how bad the tension surrounding the air was that he felt the need to enter the discussion. More often than not the Jarl preferred to follow orders and leave the decision making to those more adept at the skill. Seeing the murderous glare in Evanlyn's eyes he entered the conversation wearily, distracting the remaining few still watching the good for nothing comrade and the feisty serving girl.

"Well I am pretty sure I will be able to tell which one Will is in." Halt added for the third time since the meeting had begun. He started to look more and more alive as the prospect of regaining Will dawned closer.

"How?" Borsa asked. Only Evanlyn and Horace knew in depth of a Rangers skills however the rest of the party stared at the dishevelled man with a wolfish smile lurking on his face.

"I'm a tracker, it's part of my job to be able to find footprints or clues as to where the enemy are hidden." The others looked around in surprise at this new revelation.

"Well? What are we doing here then why are we not already on our way?" Svengal asked, all too clearly agitated like Erak at the tediousness of planning the mission. He appreciated the young slaves even before they escaped he regarded them with some respect, or as much respect as could be given to run away slaves. After their escape his respect only grew.

"We still need an organised way of getting him out so that we do not waste necessary time and get caught." Horace, to his own surprise said. He for one was just like the many warriors next to him and was burning with anticipation and already wishing he could be on his way, actively doing something to get his friend back.

"Exactly, now do you know what the interior of the caves look like?" Halt asked the Oberjarl.

"Well it was more or less used for miners when we collected slaves so the layout is pretty simple, it's more or less a series of corridors where the miners work." Ragnak replied.

"Wait you mine? I thought there was never much treasure in the mountains?" Halt asked and in spite of himself began to unconsciously file that information away till later where he could write it out.

"You never know what you might find if you dig deep enough." The oberjarl countered. "I guess you already know the lay out then?"

"Of course I do, all I need to do now is get a clear view of the mountains to see which one he is in and then we shall leave at first light." Halt said. He formulated a plan his mind racing at all the possibilities. The others nodded wearily and disclosed this meeting as adjourned. For the first time in a while Halt felt himself smile. It was time to get a haircut.

* * *

_It was the following day after Will's supposed birthday and still he merrily skipped down the halls hugging any one within reach. Many accepted them with toleration after all who could refuse his radiant glow of joy? The more pessimistic ones pushed him off roughly and muttered of how ridiculous young children were. Still the young boy didn't seem to notice, lost in his own world, the wooden carving bouncing against his skinny chest. He was on his way to the Ward quarters after completing his daily chores of feeding the livestock at the castle when he tumbled over something and fell to the floor in a heap. Abruptly he stood up, brushing off any dirt that may have come to his chain and glared in the direction that he fell in. He realised that it was not something but someone he tripped over. _

_A young girl looking to be about a couple years his senior was crouched low on the floor, ear pressed firmly to a heavy wooden door that Will hadn't noticed. Clearly she was eavesdropping on some one's conversation and with anger burning inside him like a fever he made his way over to her and knelt down so he could be in her height range. _

"_Did you know eavesdropping on important meetings is wrong?" He whispered fiercely. The girl to his pleasure visibly jumped back in shock. She turned around angrily to see who had disturbed her and found herself face to face with Will. He noticed that she was obviously not from Araluan. If her dress sense had not told him otherwise it was her appearance. She was tanned, a bit lighter than the colour of coffee and her black silky hair splayed out before her untied, her black obsidian eyes creased with fury as she eyed him. _

"_That is none of your business." She snapped. She turned once more to press her ear to the door but to her dismay Will continued to argue with her. _

"_I think it is my business if you trip me up, you should know better than to sit here on the floor waiting for anyone to have an accident like me because they didn't notice you." Will whispered vehemently. _

"_No one else will because clearly unlike you they will know how to use the pair of eyes they have and not fly around everywhere like a blind baboon!" She was starting to get irritated at the behaviour of this boy and she wished more than anything that he would just shut up and go. _

"_Blind baboon I will have you know I am far from a blind baboon! What kind of insult is that anyways? Who calls some one a blind baboon?" Will already forgot he was supposed to be on his way to his quarters. This argument was occupying most of his attention. The insult now had prevented him from whispering and his voice had grown louder with each word. _

"_sssshhhhhhhh!" She hissed at him, her finger on his lips as he was about to retort back. Will froze. From the other side of the door he could hear some grunting and exclamations of displeasure which had something to do with the noise he was making in their argument. The girl next to him looked horrified then springing up with in seconds, she sprinted down the hall way not waiting nor caring whether the young boy followed in pursuit. He did however. Turning round a corner Will found himself in an empty corridor wondering where the mysterious girl had gone to. He decided, rather tactlessly, to call out for her to see whether she would respond. _

_Suddenly a pair of hands shot over his mouth and before he could do anything to stop them, he found himself being dragged into a room by the collar of his tunic. There was a quiet creak as the door shut and the same girl turned around furiously to meet his gaze. Will found he couldn't quite directly look her in the eye._

"_What on earth are you thinking you insolent fool! If my father had found out I was listening in on their conversation he would have killed me." She pushed him violently against the wall. Despite how much she scared him Will blurted out. _

"_Where do you come from? Why are you here? Who's your father? Why were you eavesdropping? What does-"_

"_STOP!" The girl almost yelled at him. His unfinished question died on his lips. She sighed tiredly and let go of his collar so he wasn't up against the wall anymore. _

"_You ask a lot of questions don't you?" She almost smiled at him as he nodded eagerly. _

"_Yes I do. I ask people so many questions that sometimes they avoid me just so they don't have to answer them." He beamed at her though he didn't know why. Maybe it was the power of the chain making him happy. Then again it could be because he now had a little bit of action in his otherwise dreary life. She laughed quietly at his expression. _

"_What is your name we seem to be on the same boat we could help each other out ." _

"_Huh? I have never been on a boat in my life I don't know what you're talking about?" Will asked confused. She laughed softly yet again though almost, Will thought, in a way so that she didn't offend him._

"_My name is Shanya." She smiled at him. He smiled back._

"_My name is Will, it's nice to meet you." He held out his hand in greeting and she shook it firmly before saying. _

"_I think we will be seeing quite a lot of each other."_

* * *

**Hey guys I think you want to fish my guts out right now though I don't actually know whether you can fish anyone's guts out but anyways I know sorry is not adequate enough for how late this update is. To be truthful I sort of had writers block and didn't know where to take the story but I do now. Never fear for I am here! I am not promising any regular updates but I will try to make sure that they aren't as long as that one. **


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

_Sleep finally seeped into his befuddled brain when a sharp tapping noise aroused him from his bliss. Fluttering his eyes open Will groaned silently and closed his eyes again. The same tapping noise repeated. He sat up in confusion and let the dim light from the half moon outside determine his surroundings. _

_He was resting in the boys dormitory and it was long after sun down. Shifting on his bed he could make out the silhouette of his former ward mates laying in a deep sleep. He wondered whether the noise was a form of an elaborately played joke, it would not be the first time this happened, however seeing their unconscious figures in bed he realised they couldn't be the ones making that irritating noise. The resonating sound came from the upper window to the left where the light was pouring in._

_Wearily he placed his feet carefully on the cold stone floor, and tiptoeing so as not to get his feet too cold he clumsily made his way to the window, tripping over George's bed to do so. Opening the shutter wider he peered out into the darkness trying to locate where the sound was coming from._

"_Psshht!" His head snapped down and saw a dark outline leaning casually against the castle walls. The sentries were supposed to be on watch tonight as usual and the light from their bracken reflected from the stone walls, bathing the area in an orange glow. Who was down there? The voice sounded to be a girl and Will knew she couldn't be calling to him. No girl ever wanted to engage in a conversation with him apart from Alyss and Jenny. Then again who else would she be calling to? He was the only one awake right now._

"_Who is it?" He whispered cautiously into the air at the figure. He saw the slender outline straighten up away from the wall and look up at him. He then found his answer with out having need of hearing her reply. No one could forget those piercing black eyes darker than the night itself. He wondered mildly to himself how she managed to get there with out the sentries noticing her. Perhaps like she said they did have a lot in common after all. _

"_Is it you Will?" She asked. He nodded then realised she wouldn't be able to see his gesture and whispered a yes back. _

"_Good come down and meet me." She said this as if it were the most simple action on earth. Of course Will knew that for him it was, but it was not the matter of carrying out the order more the consequences of his actions. Impulsiveness surged through him and without a second thought he clambered down the walls in a spider like manner very casually avoiding the sentries near him. He jumped lithely to the ground and turned around to face her._

"_What are you doing here Shanya? If the sentries catch us we could be in big trouble." Will said fretfully. He searched the corridors yet again to ensure they were alone. Shanya simply snorted in amusement and walked boldly down the hall way not even bothering to conceal herself in the shadows. _

"_The sentries can only catch me if I want to get caught. Now follow me Will." He looked after her figure that was walking in the opposite direction getting further away from him, not bothering to check if he was following her. He then glanced back up to his dormitory window and knew what path he would take. Silently cursing himself for being so reckless he jogged down the hall way to catch up to her. Despite his growing sense of dread, he felt a strange tingle in the pit of his stomach that he usually felt when he was excited._

"_Why did you call me? Where are we going? What are we going to do?" The questions tumbled out of his mouth, unable to control himself. She laughed quietly and headed out of an unstable wooden door used for the kitchen servants. _

"_Let me answer the first question for you. I was bored." She continued walking down the path way and walked out into the night air. Will stopped dead in his tracks._

"_You called me because you were bored?" He asked incredulously. How foolish could this girl be? He had thought in the least that perhaps she might have been in some sort of trouble that she needed his help with, not because of the simple anecdote she was bored. _

"_Yes now are you coming or not? I can't wait all night." She turned around to face him and he realised he was still standing as frozen as a statue. Heaven knows he could do with a bit of entertainment right now; with that thought in mind he followed her out of the servant path way and into the night air to accompany her to wherever her deranged mind wished to go. She smiled in gratitude as he joined her and said. _

"_You know I told you we were alike." She sauntered down the cobbled path way and climbed up a huge willow tree, almost like a snake. She merged with the darkness as Will looked up trying to find her. Shrugging slightly he climbed up the tree blindly. He saw a bold outline and sat on the same branch she was on. _

"_So what do you want to do now?" Will asked confused. The moon lighted up her face and he saw her eyes shine with excitement. _

"_Lets talk." She turned to face him as he snorted in derision. _

"_You called me all the way down here so you could talk?" He asked mockingly. She nodded in earnest._

"_Yes I hear girls do it all the time." She answered. _

"_But I'm not a girl." He answered getting more and more confused. Surely she knew that. Of course he didn't have a deep voice yet but he thought his short hair and male clothes would have alerted her to his gender. _

"_Well you're close enough." He didn't know whether to be offended or to laugh. He settled for a look in between with a frown and a smile playing on his face. _

"_Anyways none of the other girls want to be around me, after all I am the General's daughter." She said with a slight sigh. _

"_Wait what? Which general are you talking about?" Will asked. He found himself getting excited. Perhaps being friends with some one as close to royalty as her could have its perks. Of course he was yet to decide whether he wanted to be friends with her or not. She was too unpredictable for his taste and very bipolar. Then again she shared the same excitement he felt when they were in danger. _

"_General Haz'kam. He is my father." She said. Seeing the look of confusion on Will's face she continued. "We are Temujai, we came here for a treaty with Araluan though I have no idea what about." A light of understanding dawned on Will. He knew she must have been foreign. _

"_Oh I see" He said. He felt he should be making some sort of comment here. _

"_He's so hell bent on invading and conquering other lands that he doesn't see what is truly important." She sighed yet again. _

"_And what would that be?" Will asked softly. She looked up at him and flashed him a crooked smile._

"_Me." He smiled at her and looked out towards the dark scenery. Nearby an owl hooted with amusement as it hunted for its prey. _

"_Does that mean you are leaving soon?" Will asked her the question he was most dreading. He silently berated himself for being so hung up but he couldn't help it. After a very long while he finally found someone that was exactly like him and it was just an unlucky twist of fate that that person happened to live across countries from him. Sure he still had the other Ward mates but they never held the same thirst for adventure as him. _

"_Yes it does. I think the meeting is going well but I don't know they don't exactly let a girl into the meeting rooms if you know what I mean." She looked so upset to Will that he couldn't help but put a comforting arm around her frail shoulders. _

"_Do you know what I think?" He asked quite cheerfully as she looked up at him. _

"_What?"_

"_I think since we might not see each other in a very long time we should spend the time we do have together wisely." Of course Will knew they were never going to see each other again in their lifetime, he would most probably become a knight and be stationed at Redmont Castle. There would be no time or money to go across borders unless for missions. However on this cold and bitter night he didn't want to express such harsh words of reality to his companion and therefore settled to make the last couple of days together as fun as possible._

"_Come with me, I know a place we can go to." He gently slipped off the branch and slid down the Willow with her following in his wake. He noted with surprise she asked a load of questions, some completely unrelated to the topic, and figured that they were once again more alike than he once thought. _

_And so he broke the first rule him and Alyss had ever set up and with a gnawing sense of guilt, he guided Shanya to the little clump of bushes by Tarbus river and revealed his tiny world to her. She gazed at it in shock and after a while a small smile entered her lips. _

"_This is beautiful how did you find it?" She asked looking at the young boy who had plopped himself on the cool grass. _

"_I have a knack for finding rare beauties like this." He shrugged. She sat down on the grass and was about to lie down when she noticed something that made her face pale._

"_What on earth is that?" She pointed to Will's chest her horror mounting. He saw her expression and looked down. It was his amulet. He smiled at the chain and relaxed realising her fear was a short-lived one, after all there was nothing scary about a simple chain. _

"_It's a necklace I got for my birthday, it's beautiful isn't it?" Will smiled absent mindedly, fingering the carving. _

"_No, no it's not actually." Will frowned. He was partially confused and partially angry. Why was she acting this way now? There was nothing wrong with the carving, she was being paranoid. _

"_Why do you think it's not beautiful?" He didn't understand what she was getting to. She stood up slowly and made her way towards him, eyeing the chain with distaste. _

"_That" She spat malevolently "is not your chain, it belongs to us it is my Grand fathers amulet." Will looked at her in shock. What was she talking about? _

"_No my friend Alyss gave it to me for my birthday." He corrected her. After all it could just be a silly mistake on her part or that this was a look a like to her one. _

"_No I am absolutely positive that this is not yours, I spent nearly every waking moment of mine in the Royal castle after I was born I know what their amulet looks like." She shook her head and gave Will a look of scathing. "I can not believe you stole it from us." _

"_Wait what? I didn't steal anything I got it for my birthday." He countered. He had no idea how this peaceful night had suddenly progressed to this fight but he wanted it to stop._

"_Then your friend is the thief!" She said angrily. Now Will could feel the fury boil in his blood._

"_Don't you dare call my friend that, she is not a thief!" He screamed. Neither of them cared that they were making a ruckus, it was past midnight and both of them were glaring at each other with utmost loathing. With a shudder Will started to speak._

"_Look let's just start over or something okay? When did your grandfather have this?" _

"_He was wearing it the night he died." Shanya had been facing away from him but turned around to answer the question._

"_Three years ago on the border of our country where our castle is situated, he died with that chain on his neck." She muttered. _

"_Why is it so important to you?" _

"_Other than the fact that my grandfather loved it?" She asked._

"_Yes."_

"_Well I guess in much older times this amulet was a symbol of power and wealth, anyone who owned one was considered royalty. The Emperor himself handed them out personally to his most devoted and special followers." She looked at Will again with an apologetic gesture._

"_Sorry I accused you of stealing this, you couldn't have done I mean you were in a different country." _

"_Don't worry it doesn't matter." He aired his hand and dismissed the apology. _

"_So what happened then?" He asked her. A very audible sigh passed her lips yet she continued. _

"_Well obviously the peasants started making fake copies of them so the whole idea collapsed I mean these amulets granted immediate access to anywhere in the castle, having fake ones and in the wrong hand…" There was no need to continue. The implicated disasters were obvious. _

"_So is my one a fake or a real?" Will asked curiously. He noticed her eyes narrowed as he called the chain 'his' but said nothing. _

"_Yours is real." She said looking at the carving intensely. _

"_How can you tell?" _

"_The level of detail is only one of which the carvers back home could create." She told him. "None of the peasants could recreate it in the same calibre." He noted there was some pride in her voice._

"_I see." He said for the second time that night. _

"_What I don't understand is how it ended up here!" She vented. She was now pacing up and down the circular meadow as though hoping the answer she was seeking was lurking in the bushes around her. _

"_Did your Grand father ever set foot in Araluan?" Will asked. It was a possibility albeit slight but still a possibility. _

"_No." She said glumly. She sat back down next to Will after admitting defeat. _

"_So what happened after your Grand father died?" Will asked, settling himself to a comfortable sitting position, ready to spend the whole night if he had to solving the mystery._

"_Well the chain was then sold." She replied. She saw nothing that could help them solve the answer by discussing this. _

"_Really? Did you not pass it on from Father to Son that type of thing?" Will asked. He always knew these amulets tended to be hereditary. _

"_No our land does not care much for tradition we more or less do anything we can to gain money." She shook her head as though the simple thought was sickening. _

"_Well who did the chain get sold on to then?" He asked._

"_To a wealthy merchandise." _

"_How good was this merchandise?" Will asked. He began to see something that could help him solve the connection. Shanya was not catching on however and was frowning when she asked._

"_What do you mean?" _

"_Well did they sell any goods internationally?" Will asked. A light of understanding began to dawn on the young girls eyes as she understood where this was going. _

"_Yes they did, they were very famous for their jewellery pieces." She murmured. _

"_Well my friend Alyss told me she bought this from the local market down the road. It may be that by some chance this amulet managed to exchange hands many times before landing here." Will now concluded, proud for his deductive reasoning. _

"_Will you are a genius!" Shanya exclaimed, clapping her hands. Will shrugged, a blush rising to his cheeks. He was a generally modest person though he didn't discourage any praises or compliments, he got those rarely enough. She hugged him quickly before getting up to her feet and helping him up also. Without meaning to Will started to yawn. He realised now just how late it was, or early in the morning. She saw his eyes droop and smiled. _

"_Come on you need to get to bed." She let him lean on her as he trudged slowly up to the boys dormitories. She slapped him awake quickly before he had to climb up the castle walls. She didn't want him to do that half sleepily too. That could well spell the death of him. _

_Moaning slightly as his ears ringed from the slap, he alerted himself awake and began climbing the wall with new vigour. Arriving in his dormitory he shuffled quietly to the bed next to Adam, another fellow Ward mate, and sunk in to the hard bed gratefully, allowing his muscles to ease and his brain to wonder. He soon found himself falling into a deep sleep. _

_The following morning at first light, without warning the Temujai's made to leave the country. And without looking back Shanya followed them in their footsteps. _

Waking groggily from his sleep, Will shook his numb limbs trying to regain some feeling into them. It had been a while since anyone had visited him in his cell, which thankfully he didn't have to share. _I guess being a high security prisoner has its advantages _he thought wryly. He eyed the chain hanging limply from his neck. Throughout the couple of days he had lost all the nutritious fat he had gained at Halloshalm and with his mouth watering he thought of the succulent chicken and the warm aroma of the hot coffee that would send fire and warmth through his veins.

The door opened suddenly adding a little more light to the room than it had before. He could now see the cell in more definition. Though there wasn't much to see in the first place. No furniture adorned this room, just blank hard rock. He sighed sadly and noticed the plate of food edged towards him. He looked up and saw a serving girl quickly drop the plate by his feet, dropping all the food in the process. She muttered apologetically though he didn't know who to, as she hastily dropped to her knees and began picking the dirty food items off the mud crusted ground. He looked at her with pity. It was obvious she wasn't respected or taken notice of. Being a former slave himself he felt more obliged to trying to protect people from having the same experience as him.

"Don't bother I probably won't eat it." He muttered just loud enough for her to hear. She ignored him and continued picking up the food, which she was taking a very long time to do. He sighed with exasperation and decided not to care. She could do whatever she wanted to, he wasn't going to eat the food either way. _Not after it fell to the ground_ he grumbled unhappily.

"I know you won't I just needed an excuse to see you." That voice seemed oddly familiar to him. Where had he heard that voice before? It was like a butterfly, the more he tried to catch it the faster it flew away. Looking up automatically he found a trigger, which sent a whole cabinet of memories flying across his mind. How could he ever forget those obsidian eyes?

"Shanya." He murmured, shocked at the raspy sound bouncing around the room.

"Shhh." She put a finger to his lips looking around. She turned back and smiled at him slightly. "Don't worry hang in there trouble maker, I'm going to get to get you out."

* * *

**Hey guys hope you liked this chapter. As always please give me reviews so I know how good it is. I could tell this was confusing at first but don't worry now there are no confusions and Will is about to be rescued! Hoorah. **

**I am so very near to the end of this story. I think a few more chapters should conclude this little adventure but I had fun writing it. Don't worry about the ending I HAVE got a plan to keep the main couple together. **

**Now I would like to hear what you choose on the following verdict:**

**Should...**

**a) Horace and Alyss end up together ( I always thought they had a lot more in common what with them being tall and pure hearted not as devious as Will or Cassandra) **

**b) Horace ends up with Tyra though I don't exactly know how that would work, you would have to come up with a suitable idea yourself.**

**c) Alyss ends up with George which I think could maybe work as they are both more intellectually strong than physically and George's character is not developed enough by the author Flanagan (he is a great author though)**

**d) What ever option you choose to come up with yourself. **

**Write what you think in your reviews. Peace out!**


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